Rounds announces bill to encourage converting cropland back to pasture.

MITCHELL - Republican U.S. Sen. Mike Rounds unveiled a bipartisan bill Aug. 19 at Dakotafest that would pay farmers to convert less-productive cropland back to grass and allow the acres to be grazed by livestock all season.

The Rebuilding America’s National Cow Herd Act, or RANCH Act, would create a voluntary federal program with an enrollment cap of 20 million acres. Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar …