[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 133 (Wednesday, September 29, 2010)]
[Senate]
[Page S7792]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. JOHNSON:
  S. 3870. A bill to amend the Federal Crop Insurance Act to permit 
certain livestock owners to plant a secondary crop for the use of the 
producer as emergency feed; to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, 
and Forestry.
  Mr. JOHNSON. Mr. President, today I introduce legislation that will 
enable livestock producers who have been affected by excessive 
precipitation to have access to emergency feed stocks. The rain 
producers faced last fall, coupled with the abnormal snowfall this 
winter and the subsequent rain this spring and summer, has led to major 
flooding throughout South Dakota, particularly in the northeastern part 
of our State. Unfortunately, there are many areas in which land that 
would normally be available for planting was not available because of 
the wet conditions. As a result of the flooding earlier this year, many 
producers claimed prevented planting coverage through their crop 
insurance policies.
  A side effect of the flooding was that many producers have faced a 
shortage of forage for their livestock. I have spoken with many 
producers who would like to be able to plant a secondary crop on land 
that has qualified for prevented planting coverage for the purposes of 
providing emergency feed for their own livestock. As currently provided 
by the Agricultural Risk Protection Act of 2000, in States like South 
Dakota, which are not permitted to plant two crops during a single 
year, a producer loses 65 percent of their prevented planting 
compensation if they plant a secondary crop and harvest or graze that 
crop before the end of the crop year, which is interpreted as November 
1 by the Risk Management Agency, RMA. The actual production history, 
APH, of the land is also reduced to 60 percent of the normal yield for 
that year. Given the suffering producers in my State have experienced 
this year because of flooding, it is necessary to provide them the 
flexibility they need to stay in business.
  My legislation would permit producers to plant and harvest or graze a 
secondary crop before November 1 for the purposes of ensuring 
sufficient feed for their livestock without penalty of a reduction in 
prevented planting coverage and benefits. In order to ensure 
accountability, my legislation would require producers to own 
livestock, to have suffered from excessive precipitation which 
prohibited the first crop from being planted by the Risk Management 
Agency's final planting date for that crop, and the producer must use 
the second crop only for feed for their own livestock. The producer 
would not be permitted to sell the crop. Additionally, any revenue 
generated from the second planting would be taken into account when 
calculating the producer's benefits from Federal disaster programs, 
like the Supplemental Revenue, SURE, Assistance Program. Ultimately, 
this legislation is very fiscally responsible as it would encourage a 
reduction in Federal dollars spent on disaster assistance.
  Agriculture is a vital industry in South Dakota. Year after year, our 
producers continue to provide the world with a cheap, safe, and 
abundant source of food, fuel, and fiber. In fact, according to the 
South Dakota Department of Agriculture, each year on average, one South 
Dakota producer raises enough food to feed 144 people. Our farmers and 
ranchers are absolutely essential to ensuring we can feed an ever-
growing world population and to the continued growth of our State's 
economy, and my legislation would help them through rough times when 
factors outside of their control, like the weather, would otherwise 
force them out of business.
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