[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2818 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







106th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2818

To amend the Agricultural Market Transition Act to establish a flexible 
 fallow program under which a producer may idle a portion of the total 
planted acreage of the loan commodities of the producer in exchange for 
   higher loan rates for marketing assistance loans on the remaining 
                        acreage of the producer.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             June 29, 2000

  Mr. Johnson introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
   referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the Agricultural Market Transition Act to establish a flexible 
 fallow program under which a producer may idle a portion of the total 
planted acreage of the loan commodities of the producer in exchange for 
   higher loan rates for marketing assistance loans on the remaining 
                        acreage of the producer.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Food Security and Land Stewardship 
Act of 2000''.

SEC. 2. FLEXIBLE FALLOW PROGRAM.

    (a) In General.--Section 132 of the Agricultural Market Transition 
Act (7 U.S.C. 7232) is amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(g) Flexible Fallow Program.--
            ``(1) Definition of total planted acreage.--In this 
        subsection, the term `total planted acreage' means the cropland 
        acreage of a producer that for the 1999 crop year was--
                    ``(A) planted to a loan commodity;
                    ``(B) prevented from being planted to a loan 
                commodity; or
                    ``(C) fallow as part of a fallow rotation practice 
                with respect to a loan commodity, as determined by the 
                Secretary.
            ``(2) Authority.--In lieu of receiving a loan rate under 
        subsections (a) through (f), a producer, with respect to 
        production eligible for a loan under section 131, may elect to 
        participate in a flexible fallow program for any of the 2001 or 
        2002 crops under which annually--
                    ``(A) the producer determines which acres of the 
                total planted acreage are assigned to a specific loan 
                commodity;
                    ``(B) the producer determines--
                            ``(i) the projected percentage reduction 
                        rate of production of the specific loan 
                        commodity based on the acreage assigned to the 
                        loan commodity under subparagraph (A); and
                            ``(ii) the acreage of the total planted 
                        acreage of the producer to be set aside under 
                        clause (i), regardless of whether the acreage 
                        is on the same farm as the acreage planted to 
                        the specific loan commodity;
                    ``(C) based on the projected percentage reduction 
                rate of production as a result of the acreage set aside 
                under subparagraph (B), the producer receives the loan 
                rate for each loan commodity produced by the producer, 
                as determined under paragraph (3); and
                    ``(D) the acreage planted to loan commodities for 
                harvest and set aside under this subsection is limited 
                to the total planted acreage of the producer.
            ``(3) Loan rates.--
                    ``(A) In general.--Subject to subparagraphs (B) and 
                (C), in the case of a producer of a loan commodity that 
                elects to participate in the flexible fallow program 
                under this subsection, the loan rate for a marketing 
                assistance loan under section 131 for a crop of the 
                loan commodity shall be based on the projected 
                percentage reduction rate of production determined by 
                the producer under paragraph (2)(B), in accordance with 
                the following table:
      

 
 
        ``Projected      Corn Loan      Wheat Loan Rate     Soybean Loan Rate   Upland Cotton   Rice Loan Rate
         Percentage       Rate          ($/bushel)          ($/bushel)           Loan Rate      ($/
         Reduction Rate  ($/bushel)                                             ($/pound)        hundredweight)
 
          0%             1.89           2.75                4.72                 0.5192         6.50
 
          1%             1.91           2.78                4.77                 0.5268         6.60
 
          2%             1.93           2.81                4.81                 0.5344         6.70
 
          3%             1.95           2.83                4.86                 0.5420         6.80
 
          4%             1.97           2.86                4.91                 0.5496         6.90
 
          5%             1.99           2.89                4.96                 0.5572         7.00
 
          6%             2.01           2.92                5.01                 0.5648         7.10
 
          7%             2.03           2.95                5.06                 0.5724         7.20
 
          8%             2.05           2.98                5.11                 0.5800         7.30
 
          9%             2.07           3.01                5.16                 0.5876         7.40
 
          10%            2.09           3.04                5.21                 0.5952         7.50
 
          11%            2.12           3.08                5.29                 0.6028         7.60
 
          12%            2.15           3.13                5.36                 0.6104         7.70
 
          13%            2.18           3.17                5.43                 0.6180         7.80
 
          14%            2.21           3.22                5.51                 0.6256         7.90
 
          15%            2.24           3.27                5.58                 0.6332         8.00
 
          16%            2.28           3.31                5.65                 0.6408         8.10
 
          17%            2.31           3.36                5.73                 0.6484         8.20
 
          18%            2.34           3.41                5.81                 0.6560         8.30
 
          19%            2.37           3.46                5.88                 0.6636         8.40
 
          20%            2.41           3.51                5.96                 0.6712         8.50
 
          21%            2.44           3.55                6.04                 0.6788         8.60
 
          22%            2.47           3.60                6.12                 0.6864         8.70
 
          23%            2.51           3.65                6.19                 0.6940         8.80
 
          24%            2.54           3.70                6.27                 0.7016         8.90
 
          25%            2.57           3.75                6.35                 0.7092         9.00
 
          26%            2.61           3.80                6.43                 0.7168         9.10
 
          27%            2.64           3.85                6.51                 0.7244         9.20
 
          28%            2.68           3.90                6.60                 0.7320         9.30
 
          29%            2.71           3.95                6.68                 0.7396         9.40
 
          30%            2.75           4.01                6.76                 0.7472         9.50.
 

                    ``(B) County average yields.--
                            ``(i) In general.--The loan rate for a 
                        marketing assistance loan made to a producer 
                        for a crop of a loan commodity under 
                        subparagraph (A) shall apply with respect to 
                        the production of the crop of the loan 
                        commodity by the producer in a quantity that 
                        does not exceed the historical county average 
                        yield for the loan commodity established by the 
                        National Agricultural Statistics Service, 
                        adjusted for long-term yield trends.
                            ``(ii) Excess production.--The loan rate 
                        for a marketing assistance loan made to a 
                        producer for a crop of a loan commodity under 
                        subparagraph (A) with respect to the production 
                        of the crop of the loan commodity in excess of 
                        the historical county average yield for the 
                        loan commodity described in clause (i) shall be 
                        equal to the loan rate established for a 0% 
                        projected percentage reduction rate for the 
                        loan commodity under subparagraph (A).
                            ``(iii) Disasters.--
                                    ``(I) In general.--If the 
                                production of a crop of a loan 
                                commodity by a producer is less than 
the historical county average yield for the loan commodity described in 
clause (i) as a result of damaging weather, an insurable peril, or 
related condition, the producer may receive a payment on the lost 
production that shall equal the difference between--
                                            ``(aa) the maximum quantity 
                                        of loan commodity that could 
                                        have been designated for the 
                                        loan rate authorized under this 
                                        subsection for the producer; 
                                        and
                                            ``(bb) the quantity of loan 
                                        commodity the producer was able 
                                        to produce and commercially 
                                        market.
                                    ``(II) Calculation of payment.--The 
                                payment described in subclause (I) 
                                shall be equal to the loan deficiency 
                                payment the producer could have 
                                received on the lost production on any 
                                date, selected by the producer, on 
                                which a loan deficiency payment was 
                                available for that crop of the loan 
                                commodity.
                    ``(C) Other loan commodities.--In the case of a 
                producer of a loan commodity not covered by 
                subparagraphs (A) and (B) that elects to participate in 
                the flexible fallow program under this subsection, the 
                loan rate for a marketing assistance loan under section 
                131 for the crop of the loan commodity shall be based 
                on--
                            ``(i) in the case of grain sorghum, barley, 
                        and oats, such level as the Secretary 
                        determines is fair and reasonable in relation 
                        to the rate that loans are made available for 
                        corn, taking into consideration the feeding 
                        value of the commodity in relation to corn;
                            ``(ii) in the case of extra long staple 
                        cotton, such level as the Secretary determines 
                        is fair and reasonable; and
                            ``(iii) in the case of oilseeds other than 
                        soybeans, such level as the Secretary 
                        determines is fair and reasonable in relation 
                        to the loan rate available for soybeans, except 
                        that the rate for the oilseeds (other than 
                        cottonseed) shall not be less than the rate 
                        established for soybeans on a per-pound basis 
                        for the same crop.
            ``(4) Conservation uses.--
                    ``(A) In general.--Subject to subparagraph (B), to 
                be eligible for a loan rate under this subsection, a 
                producer shall devote all acreage set aside under this 
                section to an annual conservation use approved by the 
                Secretary.
                    ``(B) Other contracts.--A producer may enter into a 
                contract that requires multiyear conservation uses of 
                the set aside acreage approved by the Secretary, 
                including carbon sequestration and recreational uses.
            ``(5) Certification.--To be eligible to participate in the 
        flexible fallow program for the 2001 or 2002 crops, a producer 
        shall certify to the Secretary (by farm serial number) the 
        total planted acreage assigned, planted, and set aside with 
        respect to each loan commodity.''.
    (b) Conforming Amendments.--Section 132 of the Agricultural Market 
Transition Act (7 U.S.C. 7232) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a)(1)(B), by striking ``$2.58'' and 
        inserting ``$2.75''; and
            (2) in subsection (f)(1), by striking subparagraph (B) and 
        inserting the following:
                    ``(B) not more than $4.72 per bushel.''.
    (c) Crops.--This section and the amendments made by this section 
shall apply to each of the 2001 and 2002 crops of a loan commodity (as 
defined in section 102 of the Agricultural Market Transition Act (7 
U.S.C. 7202)).
                                 <all>