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The Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 (2018 Farm Bill) moved CSP from subchapter B of chapter 2 of subtitle D of title XII of the Food Security Act of 1985 to a new subchapter B of chapter 4 of subtitle D of title XII of the Food Security Act of 1985, and then repealed subchapter B of chapter 2 as amended.

The discretionary regulatory changes include the following to be consistent with the 2018 Farm Bill changes:  (1) Confirms validity of CSP contracts entered into prior to 2018 Farm Bill enactment, authorizes the ability to extend contracts that are due to expire on or before December 31, 2019, and authorizes renewal of such contracts through the new CSP authority; (2) defines new terms and adjusts existing terms, such as expanding the definition of "conservation activities” and defining the term "stewardship threshold” and "advanced grazing management”; (3) simplifies CSP ranking criteria and requires that both new contracts and contract renewals be ranked based on those criteria; (4) provides opportunity for participants to renew their contracts in the first half of the fifth year of the 5-year contract.