House Study Bill 177 - Introduced HOUSE FILE _____ BY (PROPOSED COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE BILL BY CHAIRPERSON GRASSLEY) A BILL FOR An Act requiring the department of natural resources to 1 establish and administer a pilot project to lease certain 2 grazing land, and including effective date provisions. 3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: 4 TLSB 1972YC (4) 85 da/nh

H.F. _____ Section 1. NEW SECTION . 456A.38 Leasing of grazing land 1 pilot project —— report. 2 The department shall establish and administer a leasing of 3 grazing land pilot project as provided in this section. 4 1. In administering the project, the department shall do all 5 of the following: 6 a. Select at least ten tracts of land that the department 7 holds, controls, or manages in this state. To every extent 8 practicable, each tract shall be located in a different region 9 of the state as established by the department. Nothing in 10 this section requires that the regions be uniform in size. 11 The department shall determine the size of each tract that it 12 leases. However, a tract shall not be more than five hundred 13 acres. Each tract shall be selected in order to accomplish the 14 following goals: 15 (1) Remove excess mature vegetation and allow for the 16 regeneration of the land’s natural habitat in a manner that 17 preserves water quality. 18 (2) Provide economical forage for profitable livestock 19 production which shall allow for flash grazing whenever 20 practical. 21 b. The department shall establish a procedure for selecting 22 livestock producers to participate in the project, which may 23 be by bid awarded in the same manner as provided in 571 IAC ch. 24 21. However, the department shall provide a preference to a 25 beginning farmer as defined in section 175.2 who is currently 26 engaged in livestock production. 27 2. The department shall prepare and execute leases with 28 livestock producers. Nothing in this section requires the 29 department to adopt a uniform lease. The lease shall provide 30 for all terms, restrictions, and conditions of the tract of 31 land’s use, so long as practices utilized by the livestock 32 producer are compatible with the department’s policies related 33 to resource management and outdoor recreation. The amount 34 of any lease payment required by the department shall not 35 -1- LSB 1972YC (4) 85 da/nh 1/ 3

H.F. _____ discourage participation by beginning farmers. A lease shall 1 not be for more than five years in duration. The department 2 shall not lease more than five hundred acres to any one 3 livestock producer. 4 3. The department shall prepare and submit a report to the 5 governor and the general assembly not later than January 15. 6 The report shall be submitted in an electronic format. It 7 shall include all of the following: 8 a. The number of acres and locations of tracts of land 9 leased under this section in each county. 10 b. A brief description of the leases prepared and executed 11 by the department under this section. 12 c. A description of the department’s success in furthering 13 the goals of the project as provided in subsection 1, any 14 performance goals or measurements utilized by the department, 15 and any recommendations for further action by the general 16 assembly that may further those goals. 17 4. The department shall adopt rules necessary to establish 18 and administer this section. 19 5. a. This section is repealed on June 30, 2018. 20 b. Notwithstanding paragraph “a” , the department shall 21 continue to administer any lease executed prior to June 30, 22 2018, as provided in this section. However, a lease shall not 23 expire later than June 30, 2019. 24 Sec. 2. EFFECTIVE UPON ENACTMENT. This Act, being deemed of 25 immediate importance, takes effect upon enactment. 26 EXPLANATION 27 This bill requires the department of natural resources 28 to establish and administer a leasing of grazing land pilot 29 project. The department must lease at least 10 tracts of land 30 under its control to livestock producers around the state in 31 order to accomplish the following two goals: (1) remove excess 32 mature vegetation and allow for the regeneration of the land’s 33 natural habitat in a manner that preserves water quality, 34 and (2) provide economical forage for profitable livestock 35 -2- LSB 1972YC (4) 85 da/nh 2/ 3

H.F. _____ production, including by flash grazing. The department may 1 establish a bidding system to select participating farmers, 2 so long as a preference is provided to beginning farmers. 3 The department must prepare leases that include terms that 4 ensure a livestock producer’s practices are compatible with 5 the department’s policies related to resource management and 6 outdoor recreation. 7 Each year, the department must submit to the governor and 8 the general assembly a report detailing information about the 9 project and any recommendations for legislative action. The 10 department is required to adopt rules necessary to establish 11 and administer the project. The project is eliminated on June 12 30, 2018, and all leases must expire by June 30, 2019. 13 -3- LSB 1972YC (4) 85 da/nh 3/ 3