,,ii  #aafth ,,congress  #b;d ,session  
,s4 #cdgi  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of     
,,the ,,united ,,states  ,march #ab1    
#bjbj,mr4 ,thune 7for himself and ,ms4  
,stabenow7 introduced the following     
bill2 which was read twice and referred 
to the ,committee on ,agriculture1      
,nutrition1 and ,forestry  ,a ,,bill    
,to amend the ,federal ,crop ,insurance 
,act to encourage the planting of cover 
crops following prevented planting1 and 
for other purposes4  #a4 ,short title   
,this ,act may be cited as the ,cover   
,crop ,flexibility ,act of #bjbj4  #b4  
,cover crops planted due to prevented   
planting  7a7 ,in general ,section      
#ejh;,a of the ,federal ,crop ,insurance
 ,act 7#g ,u4,s4,c4 #aejh;a7 is         
amended-- 7#a7 in subsection 7c7-- 7,a7 
in paragraph 7#a77;,b77ii7-- 7i7 by     
striking collect an indemnity and       
inserting the following3 collect-- 7,i7 
an indemnity  2  7ii7 in subclause 7,i7 
7as so designated71 by striking the     
period at the end and inserting 2 or2   

and  7iii7 by adding at the end the     
following3  7,,ii7 an indemnity payment 
that is equal to the prevented planting 
guarantee for the acreage for the first 
crop1 if the second crop-- 7aa7 is an   
approved cover crop that-- 7,,aa7 will  
be planted for use as animal feed or    
bedding that is hayed1 grazed           
7rotationally1 adaptively1 or at equal  
to or less than the carrying capacity71 
or chopped outside of the primary       
nesting season2 or 7,,bb7 will not be   
harvested1 such as a crop with an       
intended use of being left standing or  
cover2 and  7bb7 cannot be harvested for
 grain or other uses unrelated to       
livestock forage or conservation1 as    
determined by the ,corporation4  2 and  
7,b7 in paragraph 7#c7-- 7i7 by         
inserting a second crop described in    
item 7aa7 or 7bb7 of paragraph          
7#a77;,b77ii77,,ii71 or before double   
cropping2 and  7ii7 by striking make an 
election under paragraph 7#a77;,b7 and  
inserting makes an election under       

paragraph 7#a77;,b77ii77,i72 and  7#b7  
by inserting at the end the following3  
7f7 ,prevented planting coverage factors
 ,for producers that plant cover crops  
following prevented planting1 the       
,corporation may provide separate       
prevented planting coverage factors that
 include preplanting costs1 the cost of 
cover crop seed1 and the cost of fencing
 and supplying water to livestock4  4   
7b7 ,research and development ,section  
#ebb7;c7 of the ,federal ,crop          
,insurance ,act 7#g ,u4,s4,c4 #aebb7;c77
 is amended by adding at the end the    
following3  7#bj7 ,cover crops  7,a7 ,in
 general ,the ,corporation shall carry  
out research and development1 or offer  
to enter into one or more contracts with
 one or more qualified persons to carry 
out research and development1 regarding 
a policy to insure crops on fields that 
regularly utilize cover crops4  7,b7    
,requirements ,research and development 
under subparagraph 7,a7 shall include-- 
7i7 a review of prevented planting      

coverage factors described in section   
#ejh;,a7f7 and an evaluation of whether 
to include cover crop seed costs and    
costs related to grazing in the         
calculation of a factor2  7ii7 the      
extent to which cover crops reduce the  
risk of subsequent prevented planting2  
7iii7 the extent to which cover crops   
make crops more resilient to or         
otherwise reduce the risk of loss       
resulting from natural disasters such as
 drought2  7iv7 the extent to which     
increased regularity of using cover     
crops or interactions with other        
practices such as tillage or rotation   
affects risk reduction2  7v7 whether    
rotational1 adaptive1 or other          
prescribed grazing of cover crops can   
maintain or improve risk reduction2 and 
7vi7 how best to account for any reduced
 risk and provide a benefit to producers
 using cover crops through a separate   
plan or policy of insurance4  7,c7      
,report ,not later than #ah months after
 the date of enactment of this          

paragraph1 the ,corporation shall make  
available on the website of the         
,corporation1 and 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-- 7i7 describes the results of the 
research and development carried out    
under subparagraph 7,a72 and  7ii7      
includes any recommendations with       
respect to those results4  4