{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.hoeven.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/at-soil-health-summit-hoeven-outlines-importance-of-voluntary-farmer-friendly-conservation-programs", "At Soil Health Summit, Hoeven Outlines Importance of Voluntary, Farmer-Friendly Conservation Programs", "2026-08-26", "2026", "2026-08", "Republican", "Senate", "ND", "John Hoeven", "H001061", "www.hoeven.senate.gov", "hoeven", "https://www.hoeven.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases", "scraper", "MCKENZIE, N.D. \u2013 Senator John Hoeven today addressed the Advancing Soil Health for a Healthy America Summit at the Black Leg Ranch, where he discussed his efforts as chairman of the Senate Agriculture Appropriations Committee and a senior member of the Senate Agriculture Committee to:\n\nAdvance voluntary, farmer-friendly conservation programs. This includes:\n\nHoeven-authored provisions he has included in the Senate Farm Bill 2.0:\n\nThe SCALE Act \u2013 Provides matching grants to support state-led soil health and wildlife habitat programs, like Governor Armstrong\u2019s Legacy Soil Health and Habitat Program.\n\nJoint Chiefs Program \u2013 Reauthorizes the program, which has provided more than $3.2 million for partnerships with private landowners to help improve and restore grasslands in North Dakota.\n\nMaintaining programs like the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP), Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) and Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP).\n\nSecure critical priorities for livestock producers in the Senate Farm Bill, such as:\n\nMCOOL \u2013 Includes an amendment based on Hoeven-sponsored legislation that requires mandatory country-of-origin labeling (MCOOL) for beef.\n\nPrairie Dog Management \u2013 Prevents prairie dog colonies from expanding beyond reasonable levels.\n\nThe provision amends prairie dog management plans for the Dakota Prairie Grasslands to limit prairie dog habitat to no more than 1.5 percent of any single grazing allotment and establish a 1-mile buffer along adjacent state and private lands.\n\nSupport agriculture research, including projects focused on improving soil health and grazing and rangeland management that are being undertaken by the Agricultural Research Service\u2019s (ARS) Northern Great Plains Research Laboratory in Mandan.\n\n\u201cNorth Dakota\u2019s farmers and ranchers know their land and water better than anyone, and their stewardship of these resources is second to none. That\u2019s why we\u2019re focused on making sure federal conservation programs are voluntary and farmer-friendly. Whether it\u2019s securing matching federal funds for state-led efforts like Governor Armstrong\u2019s Legacy program or supporting voluntary partnerships through the Joint Chiefs Programs and similar initiatives, we are advancing solutions that support producers\u2019 bottom lines,\u201d said Hoeven. \u201cThat\u2019s exactly what we\u2019ve done with the Senate Farm Bill, which also includes key priorities for our livestock producers. Not only have we secured MCOOL and better prairie dog management, which have been longstanding goals for our ranchers, but we continue to support our ag researchers as they develop the latest, greatest methods for improving the quality and health of our soil and rangelands.\u201d\n\n-###-", 1, "2026-08-27T16:10:01Z", "2026-08-27T16:10:50Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.hoeven.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/at-soil-health-summit-hoeven-outlines-importance-of-voluntary-farmer-friendly-conservation-programs"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 2.3454357869923115, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}