S. 5277 — RANCH Act

This section establishes a ranchland program under which the Secretary of Agriculture enrolls up to 20,000,000 acres of eligible cropland with a cropping history in at least 4 of the prior 6 years into 10- to 15-year contracts to restore perennial grass and forb cover supporting grazing. Contracts provide annual rental payments at 75 percent of the county average dryland cash rental rate, 50 percent cost-sharing for establishment, and incentive payments for high-quality native seed mixes or beginning farmers and ranchers; the program requires a site-specific grazing management plan within 2 years, prioritizes beginning farmers, livestock operations, wildlife habitat, and marginal land, supplies technical assistance, and automatically enrolls expiring contracts into the Conservation Reserve Program.