12 2 STA T . 1 7 7 3PUBLIC LA W 11 0– 2 46—J U NE 1 8, 2008 ‘ ‘ (B)TRANSFE R O F DUTI ES AND RI GH TS .—Subpar a g rap h ( A ) s ha l l not appl yif — ‘‘(i) w ithin a r e asonable perio d of ti m e (as deter - mined by the Se c retary) after the date of the change in the interest in land co v ered by a contract under the program , the transferee of the land provides writ- ten notice to the Secretary that all duties and rights under the contract have been transferred to, and assumed by, the transferee
and ‘‘(ii) the transferee meets the eligibility re q uire- ments of the program. ‘‘(h) C OORDINATION W ITH O RGANI C CERTIFICATION.—The Sec- retary shall establish a transparent means by which producers may initiate organic certification under the Organic F oods P roduc- tion Act of 19 9 0 ( 7U .S.C. 65 01 et. seq.) while participating in a contract under this subchapter. ‘‘(i) ON-FAR MR ESEARCH AND D EMONSTRATION OR PI L OT TESTING.—The Secretary may approve a contract offer under this subchapter that includes— ‘‘(1) on-farm conservation research and demonstration activities; and ‘‘( 2 ) pilot testing of new technologies or innovative conserva- tion practices. ‘ ‘ SEC.1238G . DUTI ES OF T H E SEC R ET A R Y . ‘‘(a) I N G ENERAL.—To achieve the conservation goals of a con- tract under the conservation stewardship program, the Secretary shall— ‘‘(1) ma k e the program available to eligible producers on a continuous enrollment basis with 1 or more ranking periods, one of which shall occur in the first quarter of each fiscal year; ‘‘(2) identify not less than 3 nor more than 5 priority resource concerns in a particular watershed or other appro- priate region or area within a State; and ‘‘(3) develop reliable conservation measurement tools for purposes of carrying out the program. ‘‘(b) ALLOCATION TO STATES.—The Secretary shall allocate acres to States for enrollment, based— ‘‘(1) primarily on each State ’ s proportion of eligible acres under section 123 8E (b)(1) to the total number of eligible acres in all States; and ‘‘(2) also on consideration of— ‘‘(A) the e x tent and magnitude of the conservation needs associated with agricultural production in each State; ‘‘(B) the degree to which implementation of the pro- gram in the State is, or will be, effective in helping pro- ducers address those needs; and ‘‘(C) other considerations to achieve equitable geographic distribution of funds, as determined by the Sec- retary. ‘‘(c) S P ECIALT Y CROP AND ORGANIC PRODUCERS.—The Secretary shall ensure that outreach and technical assistance are available, and program specifications are appropriate to enable specialty crop and organic producers to participate in the program. 16USC38 38 g.
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