,i #aaeth ,,congress #b;d ,session ,h4 ,r4 #dhfe ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,january #ai1 #bjah ,mr4 ,nolan introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,agriculture ,a ,,bill ,to amend the ,federal ,crop ,insurance ,act to establish a conservation practice-based pilot program1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,crop ,insurance ,modernization ,act of #bjah4 #b4 ,amendments to ,federal ,crop ,insurance ,act 7a7 ,definition of beginning farmer or rancher ,section #ejb7;b77#c7 of the ,federal ,crop ,insurance ,act 7#g ,u4,s4,c4 #aejb7;b77#c77 is amended-- 7#a7 by striking tenant12 and 7#b7 by striking #e crop years and inserting #aj crop years4 7b7 ,management of corporation ,section #eje7;a77#b7 of the ,federal ,crop ,insurance ,act 7#g ,u4,s4,c4 #aeje7;a77#b77 is amended by adding at the end the following3 7,h7 ,one person who-- 7i7 shall serve as a nonvoting ex officio member2 and 7ii7 is-- 7,i7 the ,chief of the ,natural ,resources ,conservation ,service2 or 7,,ii7 an expert on the relationship between conservation activities1 farm production1 and risk4 4 7c7 ,collection and sharing of information ,section #ejf7;h7 of the ,federal ,crop ,insurance ,act 7#g ,u4,s4,c4 #aejf7;h77 is amended-- 7#a7 in paragraph 7#a71 by inserting 1 risks related to natural resources1 after losses2 and 7#b7 in paragraph 7#b7-- 7,a7 by striking purpose of establishing and inserting the following3 purposes of-- 7,a7 establishing 2 7,b7 by striking the period and inserting 2 and2 and 7,c7 by adding at the end the following3 7,b7 understanding the impact of soil type1 soil quality1 and conservation practices on risk rating4 4 7d7 ,cover crop termination ,section #ejh of the ,federal ,crop ,insurance ,act 7#g ,u4,s4,c4 #aejh7 is amended-- 7#a7 in subsection 7a77#c7-- 7,a7 in subparagraph 7,a71 by striking clause 7iii7 and inserting the following3 7iii7 the failure of the producer to follow good farming practices1 including-- 7,i7 scientifically sound1 sustainable1 and organic farming practices2 and 7,,ii7 acceptable conservation activities1 including those approved by the ,natural ,resources ,conservation ,service4 2 and 7,b7 in subparagraph 7,b71 by adding at the end the following3 7iv7 ,safe harbor 7,i7 ,definition of cover crop termination ,in this clause1 the term cover crop termination means a practice that historically and under reasonable circumstances results in termination of the targeted cover crop4 7,,ii7 ,conservation activity ,a good farming practice includes a conservation activity1 such as cover crop management1 cover crop termination1 and an agronomic management activity1 that is recognized by-- 7aa7 the ,natural ,resources ,conservation ,service2 or 7bb7 an agricultural expert operating in the area in which the conservation activity is occurring4 2 and 7#b7 in subsection 7j71 by adding at the end the following3 7#f7 ,ombudsperson ,the ,secretary shall establish an ombudsperson in the ,corporation who shall-- 7,a7 assist producers with understanding-- 7i7 the process of appealing claim denials2 and 7ii7 the rights of producers in denied or arbitrated claims2 7,b7 obtain rule clarifications2 and 7,c7 perform other duties as determined by the ,secretary4 4 7e7 ,research and development ,section #ebb7;c7 of the ,federal ,crop ,insurance ,act 7#g ,u4,s4,c4 #aebb7;c77 is amended-- 7#a7 in paragraph 7#ai7-- 7,a7 in subparagraph 7,a71 by striking 1 with a liability limitation of #a1ejj1jjj12 and 7,b7 by adding at the end the following new subparagraph3 7,e7 ,paperwork reduction ,the ,corporation shall conduct activities or enter into contracts to carry out research and development to develop a paperwork reduction policy that-- 7i7 is only available to operations with less than #a1jjj1jjj in revenue2 and 7ii7 streamlines the purchase and approval process to the maximum extent possible while maintaining actuarial soundness4 2 and 7#b7 by adding at the end the following3 7#be7 ,report on beginning farmer barriers ,not later than #a year after the date of enactment of this paragraph1 the ,corporation shall submit to the ,committee on ,agriculture of the ,house of ,representatives and the ,committee on ,agriculture1 ,nutrition1 and ,forestry of the ,senate1 a report that includes-- 7,a7 an assessment of the barriers for beginning farmers in accessing crop insurance1 including insurance under paragraph 7#ai72 and 7,b7 recommendations to address those barriers4 7#bf7 ,report on expansion of revenue policy availability ,not later than #a year after the date of the enactment of this paragraph1 and annually thereafter1 the ,corporation1 in consultation with the ,risk ,management ,agency1 shall submit to the ,committee on ,agriculture of the ,house of ,representatives and the ,committee on ,agriculture1 ,nutrition1 and ,forestry of the ,senate1 a report that includes-- 7,a7 with respect to the year preceding such report1 the #aj most widely grown crops by acreage that-- 7i7 have yield policies2 and 7ii7 do not have revenue policies2 and 7,b7 the feasibility of developing a revenue policy for each one of the crops described in subparagraph 7,a74 4 7f7 ,conservation practice-,based pilot program ,section #ebc of the ,federal ,crop ,insurance ,act 7#g ,u4,s4,c4 #aebc7 is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection3 7j7 ,conservation practice-,based pilot program 7#a7 ,in general ,the ,corporation shall carry out a pilot program to provide premium subsidies of up to #aj percentage points to eligible producers4 7#b7 ,limitation on number of ,states ,the ,corporation shall carry out premium subsidies under this subsection in not more than #f ,states with a high ,state-average loss ratio1 as determined by the ,secretary4 7#c7 ,expiration ,the pilot program shall expire on a date that is not before #e years after the date of the enactment of this subsection4 7#d7 ,report ,the ,corporation shall publish a report evaluating the participating producers yield records and the success of the pilot in encouraging conservation-- 7,a7 #a year after the date of the enactment of this subsection2 7,b7 #c years after the date of the enactment of this subsection2 and 7,c7 #e years after the date of the enactment of this subsection4 7#e7 ,eligible producer defined ,in this subsection1 the term eligilbe producer means a producer-- 7,a7 of a farm in a high loss county2 and 7,b7 that commits to practice conservation tillage1 cover crops1 or resource-conserving crop rotations on such farm for at least #e years4 4 #c4 ,amendments to ,food ,security ,act of #aihe 7a7 ,conservation plans ,section #abac of the ,food ,security ,act of #aihe 7#af ,u4,s4,c4 #chab;a7 is amended-- 7#a7 by adding at the end the following new subsection3 7g7 ,spot checks ,the ,secretary shall1 using funds of the ,commodity ,credit ,corporation1 conduct annual spot checks of at least #e percent of applicable farms in each ,state to ensure compliance with this subtitle4 2 and 7#b7 in subsection 7d7-- 7,a7 by redesignating paragraph 7#d7 as paragraph 7#f72 and 7,b7 by inserting after paragraph 7#c7 the following new paragraphs3 7#d7 ,ephemeral gully modifications 7,a7 ,in general ,in the case of producer on a farm with an existing conservation plan on the date of the enactment of this paragraph1 if a compliance review identifies an ephemeral gully that requires treatment and was not included in the plan for such farm1 such plan shall be modified to include adequate ephemeral gully control and stabilization4 7,b7 ,revision ,in the case of a plan revised under subparagraph 7,a71 the producer on the farm shall implement such plan not later than #a year after the date of the revision of such plan4 7,c7 ,prohibition ,a producer may not allow an ephemeral gully to advance to the point of becoming a classic gully in an attempt to avoid treatment4 7#e7 ,yield transfer ,the ,corporation shall not allow a producer's actual production records from one parcel of land to be used to establish actual production history on a separate parcel of land4 4