Duties of the Secretary

Section 1240F of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3839aa–6) is amended by— (1) inserting (a) In general.— before To the extent appropriate, the Secretary shall assist a producer in achieving the conservation and environmental goals of a program plan by—; and (2) inserting at the end the following: (b) Alternative manure management For alternative manure management contracts, the Secretary shall— (1) determine and publish factors for estimating the carbon sequestrations and greenhouse gas emissions reductions for each alternative manure management practice; (2) identify eligible producers based on manure management practices used at the time of application, including the anaerobic decomposition of volatile solids stored in a lagoon or other predominantly liquid anaerobic environment and their ability to replace or complement that anaerobic system with an alternative manure management practice; and (3) assist an eligible producer in achieving the carbon sequestration, greenhouse gas emissions reduction, and other environmental and public health goals of the alternative manure management systems by— (A) providing payments for designing and implementing one or more alternative manure management practices; (B) providing that eligible producer with information, technical assistance, and training to aid in implementation of the alternative manure management practices; (C) reviewing the adequacy of existing conservation practice standards for supporting the alternative manure management practices and, if necessary— (i) revising existing conservation practice standards; and (ii) developing new conservation practice standards; and (D) entering into cooperative agreements with third-party technical assistance providers with relevant expertise in alternative manure management systems to ensure adequate technical services are available to alternative manure management applicants..