COWS Act of 2026

This Act may be cited as the “Converting Our Waste Sustainably Act of 2026” or the “COWS Act of 2026”.

(a) In general.— Section 1240A of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3839aa–1) is amended—

(1) by redesignating paragraphs (1) through (10) as paragraphs (3) through (12), respectively;

(2) by inserting before paragraph (3) (as so redesignated) the following:

“(1) Alternative manure management practice.— The term alternative manure management practice means management measures that reduce baseline methane and nitrous oxide emissions and, where applicable, reduce nitrate leaching into groundwater or improve carbon sequestration, including—

(A) converting to or improving pasture-based management, including management-intensive rotational grazing (as defined in section 1240L(d)(1));

(B) compost-bedded pack barns that compost manure, slatted floor pit storage that is cleaned out at least once a month, or other similar practices as determined by the Secretary; and

(C) solid separation, scrape and vacuum technologies, or other measures, including manure management system retrofits, that primarily avoid wet handling and storage infrastructure in conjunction with—

(i) open or enclosed solar drying;

(ii) composting;

(iii) vermiculture or vermifiltration;

(iv) forced evaporation;

(v) solid storage; or

(vi) other similar methods, as determined by the Secretary.

(2) Composting practice.— The term composting practice means—

(A) an activity (including an activity that does not require the use of a composting facility) to produce compost from organic waste that is—

(i) generated on a farm; or

(ii) brought to a farm from the nearby community; and

(B) the use and active management of compost on a farm to improve water retention and soil health, subject to the condition that such use shall be in compliance with applicable Federal, State, and local laws.”; and

(3) in paragraph (8) (as so redesignated), in subparagraph (A)—

(A) in clause (vi), by striking “and” at the end;

(B) by redesignating clause (vii) as clause (ix); and

(C) by inserting after clause (vi) the following:

“(vii) composting practices;

(viii) alternative manure management practices; and”.

(b) Conservation activities.— Section 1240I(2)(B)(i) of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3839aa–21(2)(B)(i)) is amended by inserting “and composting practices (as defined in section 1240A)” after “drainage management systems”.

(a) In general.— Section 1240B of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3839aa–2) is amended—

(1) in subsection (d)(7)—

(A) in the paragraph heading, by inserting “state-determined” before “high-priority”; and

(B) in subparagraph (A)—

(i) in clause (iii), by striking “or” at the end;

(ii) in clause (iv), by striking the period at the end and inserting “; or”; and

(iii) by adding at the end the following:

“(v) increases carbon sequestration or reduces greenhouse gas emissions, including emissions of methane and nitrous oxide.”;

(2) in subsection (f)(1), by inserting “and alternative manure management practices” after “including grazing management practices”;

(3) by redesignating subsections (h) through (j) as subsection (i) through (k), respectively; and

(4) by inserting after subsection (g) the following:

“(h) Alternative Manure Management Practices.—

(1) Payment amounts.— The Secretary may provide a payment for an alternative manure management practice for an amount that is up to 100 percent of the costs associated with planning, design, materials, equipment, installation, labor, management, maintenance, and training related to implementing that practice.

(2) Advanced payments.— The Secretary shall provide at least 50 percent of the amount of total payments for an alternative manure management practice in advance for all costs related to—

(A) purchasing or contracting materials and equipment; or

(B) any technical assistance provided by the Secretary.

(3) Term.— A contract under the program that includes an alternative manure management practice under this subsection shall have a term that does not exceed 3 years.”.

(b) Conforming amendments.—

(1) Section 1240G of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3839aa–7) is amended by striking “1240B(j)” and inserting “1240B(k)”.

(2) Section 1241(i)(2)(D) of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3841(i)(2)(D)) is amended by striking “1240B(h)(2)” and inserting “1240B(i)(2)”.

Section 1240C(b) of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3839aa–3(b)) is amended—

(1) by redesignating paragraphs (1) through (4) as subparagraphs (A) through (D), respectively, and indenting the subparagraphs appropriately;

(2) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A) (as so redesignated), by striking “In evaluating” and inserting the following:

“(1) In general.— In evaluating”; and

(3) by adding at the end the following:

“(2) Alternative manure management applications.—

(A) In general.— The Secretary shall develop criteria for evaluating and ranking applications under the program that include an alternative manure management practice to prioritize applications that will maximize—

(i) carbon sequestration;

(ii) greenhouse gas emissions reductions; and

(iii) overall environmental and public health benefits, including improved water quality and quantity.

(B) Additional criteria.— In awarding contracts under the program that include an alternative manure management practice, the Secretary shall develop criteria to ensure—

(i) geographical diversity;

(ii) scale diversity, including support for small and medium-sized dairy and livestock operations; and

(iii) participation by operations with a demonstrated track record of adopting conservation measures and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

(C) Cluster applications.— The Secretary shall establish procedures under which—

(i) a group of producers may submit a joint application under the program for a shared composting facility;

(ii) that group of producers may jointly enter into a contract under the program with the Secretary; and

(iii) the Secretary allocates payments to each producer that is a party to that joint contract.

(D) Serving certain producers.— To the maximum extent practicable, the Secretary shall award the majority of contracts under the program that include an alternative manure management practice each fiscal year to small and medium-sized dairy and livestock operations, including—

(i) beginning farmers or ranchers;

(ii) limited resource farmers and ranchers; and

(iii) socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers.”.

Section 1240F of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3839aa–6) is amended—

(1) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by inserting “(a) In general.—” before “To the extent”; and

(2) by adding at the end the following:

“(b) Alternative manure management.— With respect to contracts under the program that include an alternative manure management practice, the Secretary shall—

(1) determine and publish factors for estimating the carbon sequestration and greenhouse gas emissions reductions for each alternative manure management practice;

(2) identify eligible producers based on the alternative 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 practices by—

(A) providing payments for designing and implementing 1 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 practices to ensure adequate technical services are available to that eligible producer.”.

Section 1240G of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3839aa–7) is amended—

(1) by inserting “(a) In general.—” before “Not including payments”;

(2) in subsection (a) (as so designated), by striking “, regardless of the number of contracts entered into under this subchapter by the person or legal entity”; and

(3) by adding at the end the following:

“(b) Waiver authority and limitation.— The Secretary may—

(1) waive the applicability of the limitations in section 1001D(b) or section 1240G for a payment made under a contract under the program that includes an alternative manure management practice if the Secretary determines that the waiver is necessary to fulfill the objectives of the applicable project; and

(2) impose a separate payment limitation for the contract with respect to which that waiver applies.”.

Section 1240H(c)(1)(B)(i) of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3839aa–8(c)(1)(B)(i)) is amended—

(1) in subclause (VI), by striking “and” at the end; and

(2) by adding at the end the following:

“(VIII) alternative manure management practices; and”.

Section 1242(h) of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3842(h)) is amended by adding at the end the following:

“(5) Development of composting practice standard.— Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this paragraph, the Secretary shall—

(A) conduct a review of the composting facilities practice standard and the soil carbon amendment practice standard to determine the adequacy of those practice standards in advancing alternative manure management practices (as defined in section 1240A) and on-farm composting generation and utilization; and

(B) develop and implement a new conservation practice standard for the on-farm production of compost.”.