ARC-CO Improvement Act
This bill amends the Agricultural Act of 2014 to authorize the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to make certain adjustments to county yields used to calculate actual crop revenue under the Agriculture Risk Coverage-County Level program (ARC-CO) to reduce disparities between neighboring and nearby counties with similar soils and climate that cannot be explained by a localized weather event.
(Under ARC-CO, farmers receive payments when the actual county crop revenue of a covered commodity is less than the ARC-CO guarantee for the covered commodity.)
In the case of county coverage, USDA must: (1) prioritize the use of yields from sources that provide the greatest geographic coverage of county-level data from the same source; and (2) use the yield, benchmark revenue, and payment rate based on the county of the physical location of the farm.
With respect to a farm that crosses county boundaries, USDA must: (1) split the base acres on a pro rata basis based on the relative quantity of cropland in each county, and (2) calculate any payments on the same pro rata basis.
[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1998 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
<DOC>
115th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 1998
To amend the Agricultural Act of 2014 to reduce county yield
disparities for agriculture risk coverage.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
October 24, 2017
Ms. Heitkamp (for herself and Mrs. Ernst) introduced the following
bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on
Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Agricultural Act of 2014 to reduce county yield
disparities for agriculture risk coverage.
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 ``ARC-CO Improvement Act''.
SEC. 2. COUNTY YIELD DISPARITIES.
(a) Actual Crop Revenues.--Section 1117(b) of the Agricultural Act
of 2014 (7 U.S.C. 9017(b)) is amended--
(1) in paragraph (1)(A), by inserting ``(including any
adjustments under paragraph (3))'' after ``Secretary''; and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
``(3) County yield disparities.--
``(A) In general.--In the case of county coverage,
the Secretary may adjust county yields under paragraph
(1)(A) to reduce disparities between neighboring and
nearby counties with similar soils and climate that
cannot be explained by a localized weather event.
``(B) Aggregate estimated payment.--The Secretary
shall ensure that all adjustments made under this
paragraph are balanced so the aggregate amount of
payments made under this section as a result of the
adjustments for a crop year do not increase.
``(C) Options.--
``(i) In general.--If the Secretary makes
adjustments under this paragraph, the Secretary
shall make the adjustments in accordance with
clause (ii) or (iii).
``(ii) Variations within a state.--
``(I) In general.--Subject to
subparagraph (B), the Secretary shall
allow State committees of the Farm
Service Agency to review and recommend
adjustments to the initial yield
estimates before the adjustments become
final to reduce unexplained variation
between neighboring or nearby counties
with similar soils and climate.
``(II) Review and approval.--The
Secretary shall review and approve or
reject adjustments recommended under
subclause (I) before the adjustments
become final.
``(iii) Variations along state
boundaries.--
``(I) In general.--Subject to
subparagraph (B), the Secretary shall
allow State committees of the Farm
Service Agency or the national office
of the Farm Service Agency, in
consultation with affected State
committees, to review and recommend
adjustments to the initial yield
estimates before the adjustments become
final to reduce unexplained variation
between counties in neighboring States.
``(II) Review and approval.--The
Secretary shall review and approve or
reject adjustments recommended under
subclause (I) before the adjustments
become final.''.
(b) Additional Duties of the Secretary.--Section 1117(g) of the
Agricultural Act of 2014 (7 U.S.C. 9017(g)) is amended--
(1) in paragraph (3), by striking ``and'' after the
semicolon at the end;
(2) in paragraph (4)(B), by striking the period at the end
and insert a semicolon; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
``(5) in the case of county coverage, prioritize the use of
yields from sources that provide the greatest geographic
coverage of county-level data from the same source; and
``(6) in the case of county coverage--
``(A) use the yield, benchmark revenue and payment
rate based on the county of the physical location of
the farm; and
``(B) in the case of a farm that crosses county
boundaries--
``(i) split the base acres on a pro rata
basis based on the relative quantity of
cropland in each county; and
``(ii) calculate any payments on that same
pro rata basis.''.
<all>
Introduced in Senate
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.
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