,,ii  #aaeth ,,congress  #ast ,session  
,s4 #aiih  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of     
,,the ,,united ,,states  ,october #bd1  
#bjag ,ms4 ,heitkamp 7for herself and   
,mrs4 ,ernst7 introduced the following  
bill2 which was read twice and referred 
to the ,committee on ,agriculture1      
,nutrition1 and ,forestry  ,a ,,bill    
,to amend the ,agricultural ,act of     
#bjad to reduce county yield disparities
 for agriculture risk coverage4  #a4    
,short title ,this ,act may be cited as 
the ,,arc-,,co ,improvement ,act4  #b4  
,county yield disparities  7a7 ,actual  
crop revenues ,section #aaag7;b7 of the 
,agricultural ,act of #bjad 7#g         
,u4,s4,c4 #ijag7;b77 is amended--  7#a7 
in paragraph 7#a77;,a71 by inserting    
7including any adjustments under        
paragraph 7#c77 after ,secretary2 and   
7#b7 by adding at the end the following3
  7#c7 ,county yield disparities  7,a7  
,in general ,in the case of county      
coverage1 the ,secretary may adjust     
county yields under paragraph 7#a77;,a7 

to reduce disparities between           
neighboring and nearby counties with    
similar soils and climate that cannot be
 explained by a localized weather event4
  7,b7 ,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 increase4  7,c7 ,options    
7i7 ,in general ,if the ,secretary makes
 adjustments under this paragraph1 the  
,secretary shall make the adjustments in
 accordance with clause 7ii7 or 7iii74  
7ii7 ,variations within a ,state  7,i7  
,in general ,subject to subparagraph    
7,b71 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 climate4  7,,ii7      

,review and approval ,the ,secretary    
shall review and approve or reject      
adjustments recommended under subclause 
7,i7 before the adjustments become      
final4  7iii7 ,variations along ,state  
boundaries  7,i7 ,in general ,subject to
 subparagraph 7,b71 the ,secretary shall
 allow ,state committees of the ,farm   
,service ,agency or the national office 
of the ,farm ,service ,agency1 in       
consultation with affected ,state       
committees1 to review and recommend     
adjustments to the initial yield        
estimates before the adjustments become 
final to reduce unexplained variation   
between counties in neighboring ,states4
  7,,ii7 ,review and approval ,the      
,secretary shall review and approve or  
reject adjustments recommended under    
subclause 7,i7 before the adjustments   
become final4  4  7b7 ,additional duties
 of the ,secretary ,section #aaag7;g7 of
 the ,agricultural ,act of #bjad 7#g    
,u4,s4,c4 #ijag7;g77 is amended-- 7#a7  
in paragraph 7#c71 by striking and after

 the semicolon at the end2  7#b7 in     
paragraph 7#d77;,b71 by striking the    
period at the end and insert a          
semicolon2 and  7#c7 by adding at the   
end the following3  7#e7 in the case of 
county coverage1 prioritize the use of  
yields from sources that provide the    
greatest geographic coverage of         
county-level data from the same source2 
and  7#f7 in the case of county         
coverage-- 7,a7 use the yield1 benchmark
 revenue and payment rate based on the  
county of the physical location of the  
farm2 and  7,b7 in the case of a farm   
that crosses county boundaries-- 7i7    
split the base acres on a pro rata basis
 based on the relative quantity of      
cropland in each county2 and  7ii7      
calculate any payments on that same pro 
rata basis4  4