§9097 — Title 7 Agriculture | U.S. Code

Summary

Keep farm base acres and payment yields for each covered commodity and upland cotton as they were set on September 30, 2013, and include later adjustments under the law’s listed sections. Make farm paperwork easier. Let farmers or their agents report data either electronically (including map-style data) or the old way. Set fair tolerance levels for small mapping differences and do not punish farmers for errors that fall inside those tolerances. Let farmers ask for and receive their farm maps, common land unit data, conservation practices, and related farm information from the Department of Agriculture in real time at no cost through one USDA-wide login. By September 30, 2020, the Risk Management Agency and the Farm Service Agency must use the same methods for counting acres, yields, property descriptions, and other basic farm info. Except for fraud or deliberate misrepresentation, crop insurance agents or providers are not responsible for a farmer’s program eligibility under the Acreage Crop Reporting and Streamlining Initiative. Agencies must share information better, use new technology, publish data and security standards so third-party apps can work with USDA data, and let producers sign price loss coverage or ag risk coverage contracts electronically or as multiyear contracts when possible. Provide money to do this work: $100,000,000 to the Farm Service Agency plus up to two extra $10,000,000 payments if implementation milestones are met (payments tied to notices by September 30, 2014 and September 30, 2015 and certain committee concurrence; payable October 1, 2014 or on concurrence or October 1, 2015). From the $100,000,000, give $3,000,000 to State extension services and $3,000,000 to qualified universities to build web decision tools (funds to be obligated within 30 days after February 7, 2014 and put online soon after program rules start). Also make available $15,500,000 for title I of the 2018 Act and $50,000,000 for a 2018 reconciliation subtitle, with set amounts inside that $50,000,000 for outreach, dairy surveys ($9,000,000) and a study ($1,000,000). If a court order under title 2 requires it in a crop year, use Commodity Credit Corporation funds to restore certain supports and make sure loan repayments include any restored amount. Any payment obligated on or after December 20, 2018 that is not paid out within 5 years must be canceled and returned to the Treasury, and the same 5-year rule applies to older Farm Service Agency payments under listed farm laws, unless the payment is under review, in litigation, tied to settling an estate, or the Secretary decides a delay is fair. By January 1, 2020 and each January 1 through 2023, report to the House and Senate Agriculture Committees on tilled native sod acres that lost benefits, showing current totals and state- and county-level shares.

Title 7, §9097

Agriculture — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)The Secretary shall maintain, for each covered commodity and upland cotton, base acres and payment yields on a farm established under section 8702 and 8751 of this title, as adjusted pursuant to section 8711, 8712, 8718, and 8752 of this title, as in effect on September 30, 2013, and as adjusted pursuant to section 9012 and 9013 of this title.

(b)In implementing this chapter and the amendments made by this title,11 See References in Text note below. the Secretary shall—

(1)continue to reduce administrative burdens and costs to producers by streamlining and reducing paperwork, forms, and other administrative requirements, to ensure that—

(A)a producer (or an agent of a producer) may report information, electronically (including geospatial data) or conventionally, to the Department of Agriculture, subject to the Secretary—

(i)establishing reasonable levels of tolerance that reflect the differences in accuracy between measures of common land units and geospatial data; and

(ii)ensuring that discrepancies that occur within the levels of tolerance established under clause (i) shall not be used to penalize a producer (or an agent of a producer) under any program administered by the Department of Agriculture;

(B)on the request of a producer (or an agent of a producer), the Department of Agriculture electronically shares with the producer (or agent) in real time and without cost to the producer (or agent) the common land unit data, related farm level data, conservation practices, and other information of the producer through a single Department of Agriculture-wide login;

(C)not later than September 30, 2020, the Administrator of the Risk Management Agency and the Administrator of the Farm Service Agency shall implement a consistent method for determining crop acreage, acreage yields, farm acreage, property descriptions, and other common informational requirements, including measures of common land units;

(D)except in the case of misrepresentation, fraud, or scheme and device, no crop insurance agent, approved insurance provider, or employee or contractor of a crop insurance agency or approved insurance provider bears responsibility or liability under the Acreage Crop Reporting and Streamlining Initiative (or any successor or similar initiative) for the eligibility of a producer for a program administered by the Department of Agriculture, not including a policy or plan of insurance offered under the Federal Crop Insurance Act (7 U.S.C. 1501 et seq.); and

(E)on request of a crop insurance agent or approved insurance provider required to deliver policies and plans of insurance under the Federal Crop Insurance Act (7 U.S.C. 1501 et seq.) the crop insurance agent or approved insurance provider receives, in a timely manner, any information held by the Farm Service Agency that is necessary to ensure effective crop insurance coverage for farmer customers;

(2)continue to improve coordination, information sharing, and administrative work among the Farm Service Agency, Risk Management Agency, Natural Resources Conservation Service, and other agencies, as determined by the Secretary;

(3)continue to take advantage of new technologies to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of the delivery of Department of Agriculture programs to producers, including by developing and making publicly available data standards and security procedures to allow third-party providers to develop applications that use or feed data (including geospatial and precision agriculture data) into the datasets and analyses of the Department of Agriculture; and

(4)reduce administrative burdens on producers participating in price loss coverage or agriculture risk coverage by offering—

(A)those producers an option to remotely and electronically sign annual contracts for that coverage; and

(B)to the maximum extent practicable, an option to sign a multiyear contract for that coverage.

(c)(1)The Secretary shall make available to the Farm Service Agency to carry out this chapter $100,000,000.

(2)(A)If, by September 30, 2014, the Secretary notifies the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate that the Farm Service Agency has made substantial progress toward implementing the requirements of subsection (b)(1), the Secretary shall make available to the Farm Service Agency to carry out this chapter $10,000,000 on October 1, 2014. The amount made available under this subparagraph is in addition to the amount made available under paragraph (1).

(B)If, by September 30, 2015, the Secretary notifies the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate that the requirements of subsection (b)(1) have been fully implemented and those Committees provide written concurrence to the Secretary, the Secretary shall make available to the Farm Service Agency to carry out this chapter $10,000,000 on the date the written concurrence is provided or October 1, 2015, whichever is later. The amount made available under this subparagraph is in addition to the amount made available under paragraph (1) and any amount made available under subparagraph (A).

(3)(A)Of the funds made available under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall provide $3,000,000 to State extension services for the purpose of educating farmers and ranchers on the options made available under subchapters I, III, and IV of this chapter and under section 7333 of this title.

(B)(i)Of the funds made available under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall use $3,000,000 to support qualified universities (or university-based organizations) that represent a diversity of regions and commodities (including dairy), possess expertise regarding the programs authorized by this Act, have a history in the development of decision aids and producer outreach initiatives regarding farm risk management programs, and are able to meet the deadline established pursuant to clause (ii) to develop web-based decision aids to assist producers in understanding available options described in subparagraph (A) and to train producers to use these decision aids.

(ii)To the maximum extent practicable, the Secretary shall—

(I)obligate the funds made available under clause (i) within 30 days after February 7, 2014; and

(II)require the products described in clause (i) to be made available to producers on the internet within a reasonable period of time, as determined by the Secretary, after the implementation of the first rule implementing programs required under subchapter I of this chapter.

(4)The Secretary shall make available to the Farm Service Agency to carry out title I of the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 and the amendments made by that title $15,500,000.

(5)The Secretary shall make available to carry out subtitle C of title I of the Act entitled “An Act to provide for reconciliation pursuant to title II of H. Con. Res. 14” (119th Congress) and the amendments made by that subtitle $50,000,000, to remain available until expended, of which—

(A)not less than $5,000,000 shall be used to carry out paragraphs (3) and (4) of subsection (b);

(B)$3,000,000 shall be used for activities described in paragraph (3)(A);

(C)$3,000,000 shall be used for activities described in paragraph (3)(B);

(D)$9,000,000 shall be used—

(i)to carry out mandatory surveys of dairy production cost and product yield information to be reported by manufacturers required to report under section 1637b of this title, for all products processed in the same facility or facilities; and

(ii)to publish the results of such surveys biennially; and

(E)$1,000,000 shall be used to conduct the study under subsection (d) of 1359kk of this title.

(d)(1)In any crop year in which an order is issued pursuant 22 So in original. Probably should be followed by “to”. section 901(a) of title 2, the Secretary shall use such sums as necessary of the funds of the Commodity Credit Corporation for such crop year to fully restore the support, loan, or assistance that is otherwise required under subtitle B or C, under the amendments made by subtitle B or C, or under the amendments made by subtitle B or C of the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018,1 except with respect to the assistance provided under section 9037(c) and 9038 of this title.

(2)In carrying out this subsection, the Secretary shall ensure that when a producer repays a loan at a rate equal to the loan rate plus interest in accordance with the repayment provisions of subtitles 33 So in original. Probably should be “subtitle”. B or C that the repayment amount shall include the portion of the loan amount provided under paragraph (1), except that this paragraph shall not affect or reduce marketing loan gains, loan deficiency payments, or forfeiture benefits provided for under subtitles 3 B or C and as supplemented in accordance with paragraph (1).

(e)(1)Subject to paragraph (3), any payment obligated or otherwise made available by the Secretary under this chapter on or after December 20, 2018, that is not disbursed to the recipient by the date that is 5 years after the date on which the payment is obligated or otherwise made available shall—

(A)be deobligated; and

(B)revert to the Treasury.

(2)(A)Subject to paragraph (3), any payment obligated or otherwise made available by the Farm Service Agency (or any predecessor agency of the Department of Agriculture) under the laws described in subparagraph (B) before December 20, 2018, that is not disbursed by the date that is 5 years after the date on which the payment is obligated or otherwise made available shall—

(i)be deobligated; and

(ii)revert to the Treasury.

(B)The laws referred to in subparagraph (A) are any of the following:

(i)This chapter.

(ii)Title I of the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 8702 et seq.).

(iii)Title I of the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 (7 U.S.C. 7901 et seq.).

(iv)The Agricultural Market Transition Act (7 U.S.C. 7201 et seq.).

(v)Titles I through XI of the Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990 (Public Law 101–624; 104 Stat. 3374) and the amendments made by those titles.

(vi)Titles I through X of the Food Security Act of 1985 (Public Law 99–198; 99 Stat. 1362) and the amendments made by those titles.

(vii)Titles I through XI of the Agriculture and Food Act of 1981 (Public Law 97–98; 95 Stat. 1218) and the amendments made by those titles.

(viii)Titles I through X of the Food and Agriculture Act of 1977 (Public Law 95–113; 91 Stat. 917) and the amendments made by those titles.

(3)The Secretary may delay the date of the deobligation and reversion under paragraph (1) or (2) of any payment—

(A)that is the subject of—

(i)ongoing administrative review or appeal;

(ii)litigation; or

(iii)the settlement of an estate; or

(B)for which the Secretary otherwise determines that the circumstances are such that the delay is equitable.

(f)Not later than January 1, 2020, and each January 1 thereafter through January 1, 2023, the Secretary 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 the tilled native sod acreage that was subject to a reduction in benefits under section 7333(a)(4)(B) of this title and section 508(o)(2) of the Federal Crop Insurance Act (7 U.S.C. 1508(o)(2))—

(1)as of the date of submission of the report; and

(2)by State and county, relative to the total acres of cropland in the State or county.

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Title 7, §9097

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