Protecting Mushroom Farmers Act

Protecting Mushroom Farmers Act

This bill requires the federal crop insurance program (FCIP) to provide for the research and development of a policy to insure the production of mushrooms and mushroom-growing media. (The term policy means an insurance policy, plan of insurance, provision of a policy or plan of insurance, and related materials.) The Federal Crop Insurance Corporation, the agency that finances FCIP operations, must make any resulting policy available that meets specified FCIP requirements.

As part of the research and development, the bill requires an evaluation of the effectiveness of insurance for the production of mushrooms, including policies that (1) are based on the risk of specific pests and pathogens, (2) consider appropriate best practices to minimize the risk of loss, and (3) consider whether to provide coverage for mushrooms under one policy or to provide coverage for various phases of production.

[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3815 Introduced in House (IH)]

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118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3815

  To amend the Federal Crop Insurance Act to require the research and 
     development of a policy to insure the production of mushrooms.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              June 5, 2023

  Ms. Houlahan (for herself and Mr. Meuser) introduced the following 
        bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend the Federal Crop Insurance Act to require the research and 
     development of a policy to insure the production of mushrooms.

    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 ``Protecting Mushroom Farmers Act''.

SEC. 2. RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT ON MUSHROOMS.

    Section 522(c) of the Federal Crop Insurance Act (7 U.S.C. 1522(c)) 
is amended by adding at the end the following:
            ``(20) Mushrooms.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The Corporation shall carry out 
                research and development, or offer to enter into 1 or 
                more contracts with 1 or more qualified persons to 
                carry out research and development, regarding a policy 
                to insure--
                            ``(i) the production of mushroom growing 
                        media; and
                            ``(ii) the production of mushrooms.
                    ``(B) Availability of policy.--Notwithstanding the 
                second sentence of section 508(a)(1), and section 
                508(a)(2), the Corporation shall make a policy 
                described in subparagraph (A) available if the 
                requirements of section 508(h) are met.
                    ``(C) Research and development described.--Research 
                and development described in subparagraph (A) shall 
                evaluate the effectiveness of policies described in 
                that subparagraph, including policies that--
                            ``(i) are based on the risk of--
                                    ``(I) pests, including mushroom 
                                phorid flies and sciarid flies;
                                    ``(II) fungal pathogens; and
                                    ``(III) viral pathogens;
                            ``(ii) consider other causes of loss 
                        applicable to mushroom compost and mushroom 
                        production, such as--
                                    ``(I) a loss of electricity due to 
                                weather; and
                                    ``(II) loss of growing media due to 
                                excessive 5-year, 10-year, or 20-year 
                                rainfall events;
                            ``(iii) consider appropriate best practices 
                        to minimize the risk of loss;
                            ``(iv) consider whether to provide coverage 
                        for mushrooms under 1 policy or to provide 
                        coverage for various phases of production;
                            ``(v) have streamlined reporting and 
                        paperwork requirements that take into account 
                        short propagation schedules, variable crop 
                        years, and the variety of mushrooms that may be 
                        produced in a single facility; and
                            ``(vi) provide protection for revenue 
                        losses.
                    ``(D) Report.--Not later than 2 years after the 
                date of enactment of this paragraph, the Corporation 
                shall submit to the Committee on Agriculture of the 
                House of Representatives and the Committee on 
                Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate a 
                report that describes--
                            ``(i) the results of the research and 
                        development carried out under subparagraph (A); 
                        and
                            ``(ii) any recommendations with respect to 
                        those results.''.
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