1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Improved Soil Moisture and Precipitation Monitoring Act of 2018 . 2. Improved soil moisture monitoring (a) In general Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Agriculture shall develop and implement a strategy to improve the accuracy of the United States Drought Monitor through increased geographic resolution of rural in-situ soil moisture profile observation or other soil moisture profile measuring devices, as the Secretary considers appropriate. (b) Implementation (1) In general In implementing the strategy required by subsection (a), the Secretary shall prioritize adding soil moisture profile stations in States described in paragraph (2) so that the number of drought monitoring stations is increased to an average of 1 such station per 1,250 square miles in each such State or by 50 stations in each such State, whichever is less. (2) States described A State described in this paragraph is a State that has experienced D3 (extreme drought) or D4 (exceptional drought) (as defined by the United States Drought Monitor) within any 6 months during the period beginning on January 1, 2016, and ending on the date of the enactment of this Act. (c) Coordination In carrying out this section, the Secretary may coordinate with other Federal agencies, State and local governments, and non-Federal entities that collaborate with the United States Drought Monitor. (d) Cost-Effectiveness In carrying out this section, the Secretary shall consider cost-effective solutions to maximize the efficiency and accuracy of the United States Drought Monitor. (e) Authorization of appropriations There are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary $5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2019 through 2024 to carry out this section. 3. Standards for integrating citizen science into drought models (a) In general Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Agriculture shall— (1) develop a set of standards for integration of