Strong Farms, Strong Future Act

The Strong Farms, Strong Future Act would reform and expand the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) within the Farm Security Act of 1985. Key changes include providing additional payments to producers who participate in CSP and adopt or improve perennial production systems; broadening the criteria used to evaluate CSP contract offers and renewals to emphasize soil health, carbon sequestration, and greenhouse gas reductions, along with other priority resource concerns; and creating a new framework for climate change mitigation bundles. The bill defines and promotes perennial production systems (covering agroforestry, perennial crops, windbreaks, silvopasture, and related practices) and allows automatic CSP contract renewal if a producer installed or improved a perennial system during the existing contract. It also adds inflation-adjusted payments, establishes minimum climate change bundles (including for perennial systems, soil health, advanced grazing, and specialty crops), ensures access for organic producers, and requires a detailed congressionally-reporting plan on bundle adoption and impacts. In short, the bill aims to strengthen incentives for long-lived, climate-friendly farming practices, increase the focus on soil health and carbon outcomes, and provide structured support and reporting around climate-related conservation incentives.