[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 4472 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

<DOC>






118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 4472

  To amend the Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act of 1996 
   with respect to transitioning producers from the noninsured crop 
      assistance program to the whole farm revenue insurance plan.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              June 5, 2024

 Mr. Blumenthal (for himself and Mr. Murphy) introduced the following 
      bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 
                  Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend the Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act of 1996 
   with respect to transitioning producers from the noninsured crop 
      assistance program to the whole farm revenue insurance plan.

    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 ``Save Our Small Farms Act of 2024''.

SEC. 2. ADMINISTRATION AND OPERATION OF NONINSURED CROP ASSISTANCE 
              PROGRAM.

    Section 196 of the of the Federal Agriculture Improvement and 
Reform Act of 1996 (7 U.S.C. 7333) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a)(1)(C)--
                    (A) in the matter preceding clause (i), by 
                inserting ``best facilitates'' after ``assistance 
                program that'';
                    (B) in clause (i)--
                            (i) by striking ``best facilitates the use 
                        of that'' and inserting ``the use of those''; 
                        and
                            (ii) by striking ``and'' at the end;
                    (C) in clause (ii)--
                            (i) by striking ``ensures the availability 
                        of that'' and inserting ``the availability of 
                        those''; and
                            (ii) by striking the period at the end and 
                        inserting a semicolon; and
                    (D) by adding at the end the following:
                            ``(iii) the expansion of crops listed on 
                        the national crop table of the Agency with a 
                        local average market price; and
                            ``(iv) the voluntary graduation of program 
                        participants to the whole farm revenue 
                        insurance plan developed under section 
                        522(c)(7) of the Federal Crop Insurance Act (7 
                        U.S.C. 1522(c)(7)).'';
            (2) in subsection (b), by striking paragraph (4) and 
        inserting the following:
            ``(4) Streamlined application process.--
                    ``(A) Definition of whole farm revenue insurance 
                plan.--In this paragraph, the term `whole farm revenue 
                insurance plan' means the whole farm revenue insurance 
                plan developed under section 522(c)(7) of the Federal 
                Crop Insurance Act (7 U.S.C. 1522(c)(7)).
                    ``(B) Establishment.--
                            ``(i) In general.--The Secretary shall 
                        establish a streamlined process for the 
                        submission of records and acreage reports under 
                        paragraphs (2) and (3), respectively, for--
                                    ``(I) diverse production systems, 
                                such as those typical of urban 
                                production systems;
                                    ``(II) other small-scale production 
                                systems; and
                                    ``(III) direct-to-consumer 
                                production systems.
                            ``(ii) Inclusions.--The streamlined process 
                        established under clause (i) shall include--
                                    ``(I) reduced acreage report 
                                requirements; and
                                    ``(II) allowing the submission to 
                                the Secretary of 2 reports per year so 
                                as to accommodate later acreage 
                                reporting.
                    ``(C) On-ramp to whole farm revenue insurance 
                plan.--
                            ``(i) In general.--In the case of a 
                        producer using diverse production systems 
                        described in subparagraph (B)(i) that may be 
                        eligible for the whole farm revenue insurance 
                        plan, the Secretary, acting through the 
                        Administrator of the Agency, shall establish a 
                        streamlined revenue-based option under the 
                        noninsured crop disaster assistance program 
                        under this section to assist the producer to 
                        transition, on a voluntary basis, from the 
                        noninsured crop disaster assistance program 
                        under this section to the whole farm revenue 
                        insurance plan.
                            ``(ii) Requirements.--The streamlined 
                        revenue-based option established under clause 
                        (i) shall offer a premium discount of--
                                    ``(I) 25 percent for the first crop 
                                year for which a producer--
                                            ``(aa) certifies that the 
                                        producer will transition from 
                                        the noninsured crop disaster 
                                        assistance program under this 
                                        section to the whole farm 
                                        revenue insurance plan not 
                                        later than 3 years after the 
                                        date of the certification; and
                                            ``(bb) provides revenue 
                                        history with respect to that 
                                        crop year;
                                    ``(II) 50 percent for the crop year 
                                following the crop year described in 
                                subclause (I) if the producer--
                                            ``(aa) certifies that the 
                                        producer will transition from 
                                        the noninsured crop disaster 
                                        assistance program under this 
                                        section to the whole farm 
                                        revenue insurance plan not 
                                        later than 2 years after the 
                                        date of the certification; and
                                            ``(bb) provides revenue 
                                        history with respect to that 
                                        crop year; and
                                    ``(III) 50 percent for the crop 
                                year following the crop year described 
                                in subclause (II) if the producer--
                                            ``(aa) purchases insurance 
                                        under the whole farm revenue 
                                        insurance plan not later than 1 
                                        year after the date of the 
                                        certification; and
                                            ``(bb) provides revenue 
                                        history with respect to that 
                                        crop year.
                            ``(iii) Tax form schedule f.--The Secretary 
                        shall accept the Internal Revenue Service Tax 
                        Form Schedule F (or a successor form) with 
                        respect to a producer for purposes of 
                        establishing revenue history under clause (ii).
                            ``(iv) Revenue history sharing.--The 
                        Secretary shall submit to the Federal Crop 
                        Insurance Corporation the revenue history 
                        submitted to the Secretary pursuant to clause 
                        (ii).
                    ``(D) Rulemaking.--Not later than 90 days after the 
                date of enactment of the Save Our Small Farms Act of 
                2024, the Secretary shall issue regulations to ensure 
                that premium discounts under this paragraph are only 
                available to producers described in subparagraph (C)(i) 
                that comply with this paragraph.'';
            (3) in subsection (c), by adding at the end the following:
            ``(5) Notice of certain losses.--A producer of a hand-
        harvested or rapidly deteriorating crop may submit to the 
        Secretary evidence of a loss of that crop at any time after the 
        120-hour period following the loss in order to be eligible for 
        assistance under this section.
            ``(6) Appraisal of loss.--
                    ``(A) In general.--In any case in which an 
                appraisal of crop acreage is requested by a producer or 
                determined to be necessary by a State agricultural 
                official or a State executive director of the Agency 
                for a year in which a notice of loss is filed under 
                this subsection, particularly in any case in which a 
                loss adjuster is not available within 72 hours of the 
                notice, Secretary shall permit the following 
                alternatives to an in-person appraisal by a loss 
                adjuster:
                            ``(i) Remote appraisal, including time-
                        stamped photographs, drone footage, and other 
                        technology applications.
                            ``(ii) Appraisal by field office staff of 
                        the Agency with requisite training, in 
                        conjunction with a remote appraisal under 
                        clause (i).
                    ``(B) Training.--The Secretary shall require field 
                office staff to attend noninsured crop disaster 
                assistance appraisal training for purposes of 
                subparagraph (A)(ii).'';
            (4) in subsection (e)(3), by striking ``65 percent'' and 
        inserting ``100 percent'';
            (5) in subsection (i)(2)--
                    (A) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``and'' at the 
                end;
                    (B) in subparagraph (B), by striking the period at 
                the end and inserting ``; and''; and
                    (C) by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(C) notwithstanding subparagraphs (A) and (B), in 
                the case of a limited resource, beginning, or socially 
                disadvantaged farmer, as determined by the Secretary, a 
                veteran farmer or rancher (as defined in section 
                2501(a) of the Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and 
                Trade Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 2279(a))), or a producer 
                participating in the streamlined revenue-based option 
                pursuant to subsection (b)(4)(C), $600,000.'';
            (6) in subsection (k)(2)--
                    (A) by striking ``defined by the Secretary, or a 
                veteran'' and inserting ``determined by the Secretary, 
                a veteran''; and
                    (B) by inserting ``, or a producer participating in 
                the streamlined revenue-based option pursuant to 
                subsection (b)(4)(C)'' before the period at the end;
            (7) in subsection (l), by striking paragraph (3) and 
        inserting the following:
            ``(3) Premium discount.--The coverage made available under 
        this subsection shall be available to limited resource, 
        beginning, or socially disadvantaged farmers, as determined by 
        the Secretary, veteran farmers or ranchers (as defined in 
        section 2501(a) of the Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and 
        Trade Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 2279(a))), and producers 
        participating in the streamlined revenue-based option pursuant 
        to subsection (b)(4)(C), in exchange for a premium that is 25 
        percent of the premium determined under paragraph (2).''; and
            (8) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(m) Delivery.--The Secretary shall collaborate with outreach and 
technical assistance providers, extension offices, and State 
departments of agriculture to advertise the noninsured crop disaster 
assistance program under this section, particularly to limited 
resource, beginning, or socially disadvantaged farmers, as determined 
by the Secretary, veteran farmers or ranchers (as defined in section 
2501(a) of the Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990 
(7 U.S.C. 2279(a))), and producers eligible to participate in the 
streamlined revenue-based option pursuant to subsection (b)(4)(C).''.
                                 <all>