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Agricultural Risk Protection Act
H.R.2559

Please note that the Agricultural Risk Protection Act was recently signed into law and includes several provisions that have impacted some aquaculture producers. You will also recognize based on selected content titles that Congress added numerous programs to benefit particular groups of farmers.  I extracted amendments to the Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP) and to Pilot Programs that specifically references aquacultural species and a new provision extended to "wild salmon".  As you may recall there is a pilot program underway for hard clam producers in four states and actions to extend the program to other aquacultural species will likely require considerable actions on the part of industry groups.
 
You may wish to refer to the rather long piece of legislation in H.R.2559 Agricultural Risk Protection Act of 2000 if you desire more details.

Gary Jensen
USDA-CSREES

An Act

To amend the Federal Crop Insurance Act to strengthen the safety net for agricultural producers by providing greater access to more affordable risk management tools and improved protection from production and income loss, to improve the efficiency and integrity of the Federal crop insurance program.
 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.
 
(a) SHORT TITLE- This Act may be cited as the `Agricultural Risk Protection Act of 2000'.
 
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS- The table of contents of this Act is as follows:
 
TITLE I--CROP INSURANCE COVERAGE
Subtitle A--Crop Insurance Coverage
Sec. 101. Premium schedule for additional coverage.
Sec. 102. Premium schedule for other plans of insurance.
Sec. 103. Catastrophic risk protection.
Sec. 104. Administrative fee for additional coverage.
Sec. 105. Assigned yields and actual production history adjustments.
Sec. 106. Review and adjustment in rating methodologies.
Sec. 107. Quality adjustment.
Sec. 108. Double insurance and prevented planting.
Sec. 109. Noninsured crop disaster assistance program.
Subtitle B--Improving Program Integrity
Sec. 121. Improving program compliance and integrity.
Sec. 122. Protection of confidential information.
Sec. 123. Good farming practices.
Sec. 124. Records and reporting.
Subtitle C--Research and Pilot Programs
Sec. 131. Research and development.
Sec. 132. Pilot programs.
Sec. 133. Education and risk management assistance.
Sec. 134. Options pilot program.
Subtitle D--Administration
Sec. 141. Relation to other laws.
Sec. 142. Management of Corporation.
Sec. 143. Contracting for rating of plans of insurance.
Sec. 144. Electronic availability of crop insurance information.
Sec. 145. Adequate coverage for States.
Sec. 146. Submission of policies and materials to Board.
Sec. 147. Funding.
Sec. 148. Standard Reinsurance Agreement.
Subtitle E--Miscellaneous
Sec. 161. Limitation on revenue coverage for potatoes.
Sec. 162. Crop insurance coverage for cotton and rice.
Sec. 163. Indemnity payments for certain producers.
Sec. 164. Sense of the Congress regarding the Federal crop insurance program.
Sec. 165. Sense of the Congress on rural America, including minority and limited-resource farmers.
Subtitle F--Effective Dates and Implementation
Sec. 171. Effective dates.
Sec. 172. Regulations.
Sec. 173. Savings clause.
TITLE II--AGRICULTURAL ASSISTANCE
Subtitle A--Market Loss Assistance
Sec. 201. Market loss assistance.
Sec. 202. Oilseeds.
Sec. 203. Specialty crops.
Sec. 204. Other commodities.
Sec. 205. Payments in lieu of loan deficiency payments.
Sec. 206. Expansion of producers eligible for loan deficiency payments.
Subtitle B--Conservation
Sec. 211. Conservation assistance.
Sec. 212. Condition on development of Little Darby National Wildlife Refuge,
Ohio.
Subtitle C--Research
Sec. 221. Carbon cycle research.
Sec. 222. Tobacco research for medicinal purposes.
Sec. 223. Research on soil science and forest health management.
Sec. 224. Research on waste streams from livestock production.
Sec. 225. Improved storage and management of livestock and poultry waste.
Sec. 226. Ethanol research pilot plant.
Sec. 227. Bioinformatics Institute for Model Plant Species.
Subtitle D--Agricultural Marketing
Sec. 231. Value-added agricultural product market development grants.
Subtitle F--Other Programs
Sec. 251. Authority to provide loan in connection with boll weevil eradication.
Sec. 252. Animal disease control.
Sec. 253. Emergency loans for seed producers.
Sec. 254. Temporary suspension of authority to combine certain offices.
Sec. 255. Farm operating loan eligibility.
Sec. 256. Water systems for rural and Native villages in Alaska.
Sec. 257. Crop and pasture flood compensation program.
Sec. 258. Flood mitigation near Pierre, South Dakota.
Sec. 259. Restoration of eligibility for crop loss assistance.
SEC. 132. PILOT PROGRAMS.
 
SEC. 109. NONINSURED CROP DISASTER ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.
 
(a) OPERATION AND ADMINISTRATION OF PROGRAM- Section 196(a)(2) of the Agricultural Market Transition Act (7 U.S.C. 7333(a)(2)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
 
`(C) COMBINATION OF SIMILAR TYPES OR VARIETIES- 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.'.
 
(b) TIMELY APPLICATION- Section 196(b)(1) of the Agricultural Market Transition Act (7 U.S.C. 7333(b)(1)) is amended in the second sentence by striking `at such time as the Secretary may require' and inserting `not later than 30 days before the beginning of the coverage period, as
determined by the Secretary'.
 
(c) RECORDS AND REPORTS- Section 196(b) of the Agricultural Market Transition Act (7 U.S.C. 7333(b)) is amended--
 
(1) by striking paragraph (2) and inserting the following:

`(2) RECORDS- 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.'; and
 
(2) in paragraph (3), by inserting `annual' after `shall provide'.
 
(d) LOSS REQUIREMENTS- Section 196 of the Agricultural Market Transition Act (7 U.S.C. 7333) is amended by striking subsection (c) and inserting the
following:
 
`(c) LOSS REQUIREMENTS-
 
`(1) CAUSE- 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).
 
`(2) ASSISTANCE- 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).
 
`(3) PREVENTED PLANTING- 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.
 
`(4) AREA TRIGGER- The Secretary shall provide assistance to individual producers without any requirement of an area loss.'.
 
(e) SERVICE FEE- Section 196 of the Agricultural Market Transition Act (7 U.S.C. 7333) is amended by adding at the end the following:
 
`(k) SERVICE FEE-
 
`(1) IN GENERAL- To be eligible to receive assistance for an eligible crop for a crop year under this section, a producer shall pay to the Secretary (at the time at which the producer submits the application under subsection (b)(1)) a service fee for the eligible crop in an amount that is equal to
the lesser of--
 
`(A) $100 per crop per county; or
 
`(B) $300 per producer per county, but not to exceed a total of $900 per producer.
 
`(2) WAIVER- The Secretary shall waive the service fee required under paragraph (1) in the case of a limited resource farmer, as defined by the Secretary.
 
`(3) USE- The Secretary shall deposit service fees collected under this subsection in the Commodity Credit Corporation Fund.'.
(a) AUTHORITY- The Federal Crop Insurance Act (7 U.S.C. 1501 et seq.), as amended by section 131, is amended by adding at the end the following:
 
`SEC. 523. PILOT PROGRAMS.
 
`(a) GENERAL PROVISIONS-
 
`(1) AUTHORITY- Except as otherwise provided in this section, the Corporation may conduct a pilot program submitted to and approved by the Board under section 508(h), or that is developed under subsection (b) or section 522, to evaluate whether a proposal or new risk management tool
tested by the pilot program is suitable for the marketplace and addresses the needs of producers of agricultural commodities.
 
`(2) PRIVATE COVERAGE- Under this section, the Corporation shall not conduct any pilot program that provides insurance protection against a risk if insurance protection against the risk is generally available from private companies.
 
`(3) COVERED ACTIVITIES- The pilot programs described in paragraph (1) may include pilot programs providing insurance protection against losses involving--
 
`(A) reduced forage on rangeland caused by drought or insect infestation;
 
`(B) livestock poisoning and disease;
 
`(C) destruction of bees due to the use of pesticides;
 
`(D) unique special risks related to fruits, nuts, vegetables, and specialty crops in general, aquacultural species, and forest industry needs (including appreciation);
 
`(E) after October 1, 2001, wild salmon, except that--
 
`(i) any pilot program with regard to wild salmon may be carried out without regard to the limitations of this title; and
 
`(ii) the Corporation shall conduct all wild salmon programs under this title so that, to the maximum extent practicable, all costs associated with conducting the programs are not expected to exceed $1,000,000 for fiscal year 2002 and each subsequent fiscal year.
 
`(4) SCOPE OF PILOT PROGRAMS- The Corporation may--
 
`(A) approve a pilot program under this section to be conducted on a regional, State, or national basis after considering the interests of affected producers and the interests of, and risks to, the Corporation;
 
`(B) operate the pilot program, including any modifications of the pilot program, for a period of up to 4 years;
 
`(C) extend the time period for the pilot program for additional periods, as determined appropriate by the Corporation; and
 
`(D) provide pilot programs that would allow producers--
 
`(i) to receive a reduced premium for using whole farm units or single crop units of insurance; and
 
`(ii) to cross State and county boundaries to form insurable units.