PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Referred to the Subcommittee on Conservation, Research, and Biotechnology.
Congressional Research Service
Version 00 · Introduced in House · Mar 5, 2025
Conservation for Agricultural Leased Land Act or the CALL Act
This bill directs the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) of the Department of Agriculture to carry out a study and make recommendations regarding conservation practices on leased agricultural land.
The study must (1) address issues such as participation in conservation programs and barriers to adopting conservation practices; and (2) be carried out with particular consideration of farmers and ranchers who are people of color, including Black and indigenous farmers and ranchers, and beginning farmers and ranchers.
NASS may enter into an agreement with a nonfederal entity (e.g., a nonprofit entity or university) to carry out the study.
People & committees
Rep. Brownley, Julia [D-CA-26] · D–CA
Legislative record
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Referred to the Subcommittee on Conservation, Research, and Biotechnology.
Referred to the House Committee on Agriculture.
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Primary sources
Text links open the official source. We also preserved the text version used in the PlainBill explanation below.
No related bills are listed in this snapshot. This does not establish whether the proposal has appeared in earlier Congresses.
Source last updated: Jun 9, 2025. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
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PlainBill explanation
Based on the full Introduced in House · 2025-03-05 text. This explanation has not received human editorial review. This overview describes the proposal’s major provisions; it does not establish what its real-world effects would be.
This proposal would require the Agriculture Department to study how renting farmland affects participation in conservation programs and adoption of conservation practices. It concerns farmers and ranchers who rent the land they operate, and the owners who lease it to them. The department would report its findings and recommended ways to address barriers to Congress by December 31, 2026.
The Secretary shall carry out a study of the participation in conservation programs of, and the adoption of conservation practices on, leased agricultural land.
research on how the Department of Agriculture communicates regarding conservation practice adoption to farmers and ranchers who do not own the land they operate and to landowners who lease out their agricultural land.
Not later than December 31, 2026, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a report containing— (1) the results of the study conducted under this section; and (2) recommendations, based on such study, for addressing the barriers unique to various agricultural land leasing relationships to adopting conservation practices on leased agricultural land
The proposed short title is the Conservation for Agricultural Leased Land Act, or CALL Act.
This Act may be cited as the Conservation for Agricultural Leased Land Act or the CALL Act.
The bill's findings cite a 2016 Agriculture Department study reporting that 39 percent of agricultural land and 53 percent of cropland was leased. They describe possible conservation barriers, including lease terms, operators' independence, and landowners' awareness, while acknowledging that these barriers are not fully understood. These are the bill's stated reasons for further study.
According to a 2016 study by the Economic Research Service of the Department of Agriculture, 39 percent of agricultural land in the United States is leased, including the majority (53 percent) of cropland.
The participation of landowners and tenants in Federal, State, and local conservation programs, and the adoption of conservation practices on land that they own or manage, can be limited by a wide range of factors that are not fully understood.
Some of the potential barriers to such participation and adoption include the structure or term of the lease or rental agreement, the level of independence given to the operator, the awareness of the landowner of both conservation practice and program opportunities and the costs and benefits associated with those opportunities, and other policy or market factors.
The Agriculture Secretary, acting through the National Agricultural Statistics Service, would conduct the study with the Economic Research Service. The study would cover agricultural land operated under a lease or rental agreement by a farmer or rancher who does not own it.
The study under this section shall be carried out in collaboration with the Economic Research Service.
The term leased agricultural land means agricultural land that is operated, under a lease or other rental agreement, by a farmer or rancher who does not own the land.
The term Secretary means the Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the National Agricultural Statistics Service.
The study would review existing research, including the federal Tenure, Ownership, and Transition of Agricultural Land survey and American Farmland Trust's September 2020 report on landlords who do not operate their land. It would also review Cooperative Extension System efforts to increase conservation practices on rented farmland.
a review of relevant existing research literature, including— (A) the Tenure, Ownership, and Transition of Agricultural Land (TOTAL) Survey conducted by the National Agricultural Statistics Service, in collaboration with the Economic Research Service; and (B) the report titled Understanding and Activating Non-Operating Landlords, published by the American Farmland Trust in September, 2020
a review of initiatives conducted by the Cooperative Extension System to increase the adoption of conservation practices on leased agricultural land
The study would identify and measure different agricultural leasing arrangements, research past land ownership and estimate future ownership trends, and consider regional differences.
(3) identification and quantification of the various types and structures of current agricultural land leasing relationships; (4) research on the history, and estimation of future trends, of agricultural land ownership
(6) consideration of regional variations
The study would examine leasing arrangements that have encouraged conservation, federal conservation incentives and their use on rented land, and state and local incentive programs. It would also research benefits of moving from renting to owning land for conservation adoption and federal program participation; the bill does not supply the results of that research.
(5) examination of what leasing models have been effective in encouraging the adoption of conservation practices
(7) examination of existing Federal incentives for adopting conservation practices, and the degree to which such incentives are currently utilized with respect to leased agricultural lands; (8) research on State and local incentive programs that are encouraging conservation practice adoption on leased agricultural land; (9) research on the benefits of transitioning from land leasing to land ownership on conservation practice adoption and Federal conservation program participation
The study would examine how competition over cash rental payments affects conservation adoption and what happens to ongoing conservation practices when new tenants take over.
(10) examination of the effects of competition in cash rents on the adoption of conservation practices on leased agricultural lands; (11) examination of what happens to conservation practices currently underway on leased agricultural land when new tenants take over such land
The study would examine how the Agriculture Department communicates about conservation with tenants and landowners. It would give particular consideration to farmers and ranchers of color, including Black and indigenous farmers and ranchers, and to those beginning farming or ranching.
(12) research on how the Department of Agriculture communicates regarding conservation practice adoption to farmers and ranchers who do not own the land they operate and to landowners who lease out their agricultural land.
The study under this section shall be carried out with particular consideration of farmers and ranchers who are people of color, including Black and indigenous farmers and ranchers, and beginning farmers and ranchers.
By December 31, 2026, the Secretary would have to report the study results and recommendations to Congress. Recommendations would address barriers specific to different leasing relationships and include actions available under existing legal authority, actions requiring congressional authorization, and outreach.
Not later than December 31, 2026, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a report containing— (1) the results of the study conducted under this section; and (2) recommendations, based on such study, for addressing the barriers unique to various agricultural land leasing relationships to adopting conservation practices on leased agricultural land, including— (A) recommendations that can be implemented under existing statutory authorities; (B) recommendations that would require congressional authorization in order to be implemented; and (C) recommendations for outreach.
The Secretary could use an agreement with a nonfederal organization, such as a nonprofit or university, to carry out the study and reporting requirements. This option is discretionary, and the organization would have to be selected through an application process.
The Secretary may enter into an agreement with a non-Federal entity (such as a nonprofit entity or university), selected through an application process, to carry out this section.
The supplied action snapshot, updated June 9, 2025, records House introduction and referral to the House Agriculture Committee on March 5, 2025, followed by referral to the Subcommittee on Conservation, Research, and Biotechnology on March 28, 2025.
Source snapshot updated 2025-06-09T15:02:12Z. 2025-03-28: Referred to the Subcommittee on Conservation, Research, and Biotechnology. 2025-03-05: Referred to the House Committee on Agriculture. 2025-03-05: Introduced in House
A closer look
Reviewed version: Introduced in House · 2025-03-05. These findings describe provisions and who may benefit; they are not judgments of waste, corruption, or motive.
This review covers the supplied bill text. “None identified” does not rule out provisions in later versions or accompanying reports and disclosures.
Provisions outside the bill’s main subject, or policy changes attached to appropriations.
None identified in the reviewed text
No unrelated provision or policy rider was identified in the complete supplied March 5, 2025 introduced text. This conclusion is limited to that version and does not establish absence in other versions or accompanying materials.
Spending directed to particular recipients or places outside ordinary competitive or formula-based allocation.
None identified in the reviewed text
No congressionally directed spending for a particular recipient or place was identified in the complete supplied March 5, 2025 introduced text. This conclusion is limited to that version; accompanying materials needed to assess formal earmark status are absent.
Narrow exceptions, exemptions, or preferential treatment that warrant a closer look.
None identified in the reviewed text
No materially narrow carve-out, special exemption, or preferential benefit was identified in the complete supplied March 5, 2025 introduced text under the requested definition. This conclusion is limited to that version and does not establish absence in other versions or accompanying materials.
Full text preserved for this analysis. Legislative record snapshot: Jun 9, 2025. How PlainBill uses AI