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[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1271 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 1271
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
April 3, 2025
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 2025''.
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;
``(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)); and
``(v) the establishment of pilot project
options for purposes of addressing emerging
needs and collecting data to support the
development of policies or plans of insurance
offered under the Federal Crop Insurance Act (7
U.S.C. 1501 et seq.).'';
(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
2025 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, together with such
exceptions as the Secretary determines to be necessary,
including for producers unable to purchase a whole farm
plan.'';
(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, the 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>
Introduced in Senate
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.
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