Collapse to view only § 7333. Administration and operation of noninsured crop assistance program
- § 7331. Options pilot program
- § 7332. Risk management education
- § 7333. Administration and operation of noninsured crop assistance program
- § 7334. Repealed.
Until December 31, 2002, the Secretary of Agriculture may conduct a pilot program for 1 or more agricultural commodities supported under this chapter to ascertain whether futures and options contracts can provide producers with reasonable protection from the financial risks of fluctuations in price, yield, and income inherent in the production and marketing of the commodities. The pilot program shall be an alternative to other related programs of the Department of Agriculture.
For each agricultural commodity included in the pilot program, the Secretary may operate the pilot program in not more than 300 counties, except that not more than 25 of the counties may be located in any 1 State. The pilot program for a commodity shall not be operated in any county for more than 3 of the 1996 through 2002 calendar years.
The Secretary shall set forth in each contract under the pilot program the terms and conditions for participation in the pilot program and the notice required by subsection (d).
Trades for futures and options contracts under the pilot program shall be carried out on commodity futures and options markets designated as contract markets under the Commodity Exchange Act (7 U.S.C. 1 et seq.).
A producer participating in the pilot program shall compile, maintain, and submit (or authorize the compilation, maintenance, and submission) of such documentation as the regulations governing the pilot program require.
The Secretary shall fund and operate the pilot program through the Commodity Credit Corporation, except that the amount of Commodity Credit Corporation funds used to carry out this section shall not exceed, to the maximum extent practicable, $9,000,000 for fiscal year 2001, $15,000,000 for fiscal year 2002, and $2,000,000 for fiscal year 2003. To the maximum extent practicable, the Secretary shall operate the pilot program in a budget neutral manner.
In consultation with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the Secretary shall provide such education in management of the financial risks inherent in the production and marketing of agricultural commodities as the Secretary considers appropriate. As part of such educational activities, the Secretary may develop and implement programs to facilitate the participation of agricultural producers in commodity futures trading programs, forward contracting options, and insurance protection programs by assisting and training producers in the usage of such programs. In implementing this authority, the Secretary may use existing research and extension authorities and resources of the Department of Agriculture.
The Secretary shall carry out this section through the Farm Service Agency (referred to in this section as the “Agency”).
Subject to subparagraph (B), in this section, the term “eligible crop” means each commercial crop or other agricultural commodity that is produced for food or fiber (except livestock) for which catastrophic risk protection under subsection (b) of section 508 of the Federal Crop Insurance Act (7 U.S.C. 1508) and additional coverage under subsections (c) and (h) of such section are not available or, if such coverage is available, it is only available under a policy that provides coverage for specific intervals based on weather indexes or under a whole farm plan of insurance.
The term “eligible crop” shall include floricultural, ornamental nursery, and Christmas tree crops, turfgrass sod, seed crops, aquaculture (including ornamental fish), sea grass and sea oats, camelina, sweet sorghum, biomass sorghum, and industrial crops (including those grown expressly for the purpose of producing a feedstock for renewable biofuel, renewable electricity, or biobased products).
At the option of the Secretary, all types or varieties of a crop or commodity, described in subparagraphs (A) and (B), may be considered to be a single eligible crop under this section.
To qualify for assistance under this section, the losses of the noninsured commodity shall be due to drought, flood, or other natural disaster, as determined by the Secretary.
During the first 4 crop years of planting, as determined by the Secretary, native sod acreage that has been tilled for the production of an annual crop during the period beginning on February 8, 2014, and ending on December 20, 2018, shall be subject to a reduction in benefits under this section as described in this subparagraph.
(II) Subsequent yearsNative sod acreage that has been tilled for the production of an eligible crop after December 20, 2018, shall be subject to a reduction in benefits under this section as described in this subparagraph for not more than any 4 crop years—(aa) during the first 10 crop years after the initial tillage; and(bb) during which a crop on that acreage is enrolled under subsection (l)(2) or (k).The Secretary shall exempt areas of 5 acres or less from clause (i).
This paragraph shall only apply to native sod acreage in the States of Minnesota, Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, and Nebraska.
To be eligible for assistance under this section, a producer shall submit an application for noninsured crop disaster assistance at a local office of the Department. The application shall be in such form, contain such information, and be submitted by an appropriate deadline before the beginning of the coverage period, as determined by the Secretary.
To be eligible for assistance under this section, a producer shall provide annually to the Secretary records of crop acreage, acreage yields, and production for each crop, as required by the Secretary.
A producer shall provide annual reports on acreage planted or prevented from being planted, as required by the Secretary, by the designated acreage reporting date for the crop and location as established by the Secretary.
The Secretary shall establish a streamlined process for the submission of records and acreage reports under paragraphs (2) and (3) for diverse production systems such as those typical of urban production systems, other small-scale production systems, and direct-to-consumer production systems.
To be eligible for assistance under this section, a producer of an eligible crop shall have suffered a loss of a noninsured commodity as the result of a cause described in subsection (a)(3).
On making a determination described in subsection (a)(3), the Secretary shall provide assistance under this section to producers of an eligible crop that have suffered a loss as a result of the cause described in subsection (a)(3).
On making a determination described in subsection (a)(3) for aquaculture producers, the Secretary shall provide assistance under this section to aquaculture producers from all losses related to drought.
Subject to paragraph (1), the Secretary shall make a prevented planting noninsured crop disaster assistance payment if the producer is prevented from planting more than 35 percent of the acreage intended for the eligible crop because of drought, flood, or other natural disaster, as determined by the Secretary.
The Secretary shall provide assistance to individual producers without any requirement of an area loss.
The Secretary shall establish approved yields for purposes of providing noninsured crop disaster assistance under this section.
The Secretary shall determine an approved yield using the actual production history of the producer over a period of not less than the 4 previous consecutive crop years and not more than 10 consecutive crop years.
Subject to paragraph (3), the approved yield for the year in which noninsured crop disaster assistance is sought shall be equal to the average of the actual production history of the producer during the period considered.
If a producer does not submit adequate documentation of production history to determine a crop yield under paragraph (2), the Secretary shall assign to the producer a yield equal to not less than 65 percent of the county expected yield (adjusted to reflect actual production reflected in the records acceptable to the Secretary for continuous years), as specified in regulations issued by the Secretary based on production history requirements.
If sufficient data are available to demonstrate that the acreage of a crop in a county for the crop year has increased by more than 100 percent over any year in the preceding 7 crop years or, if data are not available, if the acreage of the crop in the county has increased significantly from the previous crop years, a producer must provide such detailed documentation of production costs, acres planted, and yield for the crop year for which benefits are being claimed as is required by the Secretary. If the Secretary determines that the documentation provided is not sufficient, the Secretary may require documenting proof that the crop, had the crop been harvested, could have been marketed at a reasonable price.
Except as provided in subparagraph (B), a producer who produces a crop on a farm located in a county described in clause (i) may not obtain an assigned yield.
A producer who receives an assigned yield for the current year of a natural disaster because required production records were not submitted to the local office of the Department shall not be eligible for an assigned yield for the year of the next natural disaster unless the required production records of the previous 1 or more years (as applicable) are provided to the local office.
The Secretary shall ensure that noninsured crop disaster assistance accurately reflects significant yield variations due to different farming practices, such as between irrigated and nonirrigated acreage.
A producer who has received a guaranteed payment for production, as opposed to delivery, of a crop pursuant to a contract shall have the production of the producer adjusted upward by the amount of the production equal to the amount of the contract payment received.
The Secretary may use the funds of the Commodity Credit Corporation to carry out this section.
In this subsection, the terms “legal entity” and “person” have the meanings given those terms in section 1308(a) of this title.
Except as provided in subparagraph (B), if a producer who is eligible to receive benefits under this section is also eligible to receive assistance for the same loss under any other program administered by the Secretary, the producer shall be required to elect whether to receive benefits under this section or under the other program, but not both.
Subparagraph (A) shall not apply to emergency loans under subtitle C of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C. 1961 et seq.).
A person or legal entity that has an average adjusted gross income in excess of the average adjusted gross income limitation applicable under section 1308–3a(b)(1)(A) 2
The Secretary shall waive the service fee required under paragraph (1) in the case of a limited resource, beginning, or socially disadvantaged farmer, as defined by the Secretary, or a veteran farmer or rancher (as defined in section 2279(a) of this title).
The Secretary shall deposit service fees collected under this subsection in the Commodity Credit Corporation Fund.
The coverage made available under this subsection shall be available to limited resource, beginning, and socially disadvantaged farmers, as determined by the Secretary, and veteran farmers or ranchers (as defined in section 2279(a) of this title) in exchange for a premium that is 50 percent of the premium determined under paragraph (2).