[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 130 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
107th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 130
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
January 22, 2001
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 2001''.
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 2000 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 (C), to
be eligible for a loan rate under this subsection, a
producer shall--
``(i) devote all acreage set aside under
this section to an annual conservation use
approved by the Secretary; and
``(ii) manage the set-aside acreage using
practices designed to enhance soil conservation
and wildlife habitat.
``(B) Limited grazing.--The Secretary may permit
limited grazing on the set-aside acreage where the
grazing is incidental to the gleaning of crop residues
on adjacent fields.
``(C) 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>