Crop Insurance Modernization Act of 2018

Summary: Crop Insurance Modernization Act of 2018  This bill modifies the federal crop insurance program to expand subsidies for beginning farmers, establish a conservation practice-based pilot program, and revise conservation requirements.  The bill amends the Federal Crop Insurance Act to:   allow farmers with up to 10 years (currently 5 years) of experience to receive the beginning farmer premium subsidy discount;  require the Chief of the Natural Resources Conservation Service or an expert on the relationship between conservation activities, farm production, and risk to serve on the Federal Crop Insurance Board as a nonvoting ex officio member;  require the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation to assemble data to understand the impact of soil type, soil quality, and conservation practices on risk rating;  modify the requirements for terminating cover crops; establish an ombudsman to assist producers who are appealing claim denials;  require a paperwork reduction policy for operations with less than $1 million in revenue; and  establish a conservation practice-based pilot program to provide premium subsidies to farmers who are in high loss counties and commit to certain conservation activities.  The bill amends the Food Security Act of 1985 to:    modify requirements for spot checks for compliance with conservation requirements;  modify the conservation requirements related to modifications of gullies; and prohibit a producer's actual production records from one parcel of land from being used to establish actual production history on a separate parcel of land. 

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Crop Insurance Modernization Act of 
2018''.

SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS TO FEDERAL CROP INSURANCE ACT.

    (a) Definition of Beginning Farmer or Rancher.--Section 502(b)(3) 
of the Federal Crop Insurance Act (7 U.S.C. 1502(b)(3)) is amended--
            (1) by striking ``tenant,''; and
            (2) by striking ``5 crop years'' and inserting ``10 crop 
        years''.
    (b) Management of Corporation.--Section 505(a)(2) of the Federal 
Crop Insurance Act (7 U.S.C. 1505(a)(2)) is amended by adding at the 
end the following:
                    ``(H) One person who--
                            ``(i) shall serve as a nonvoting ex officio 
                        member; and
                            ``(ii) is--
                                    ``(I) the Chief of the Natural 
                                Resources Conservation Service; or
                                    ``(II) an expert on the 
                                relationship between conservation 
                                activities, farm production, and 
                                risk.''.
    (c) Collection and Sharing of Information.--Section 506(h) of the 
Federal Crop Insurance Act (7 U.S.C. 1506(h)) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (1), by inserting ``, risks related to 
        natural resources,'' after ``losses''; and
            (2) in paragraph (2)--
                    (A) by striking ``purpose of establishing'' and 
                inserting the following: ``purposes of--
                    ``(A) establishing'';
                    (B) by striking the period and inserting ``; and''; 
                and
                    (C) by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(B) understanding the impact of soil type, soil 
                quality, and conservation practices on risk rating.''.
    (d) Cover Crop Termination.--Section 508 of the Federal Crop 
Insurance Act (7 U.S.C. 1508) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a)(3)--
                    (A) in subparagraph (A), by striking clause (iii) 
                and inserting the following:
                            ``(iii) the failure of the producer to 
                        follow good farming practices, including--
                                    ``(I) scientifically sound, 
                                sustainable, and organic farming 
                                practices; and
                                    ``(II) acceptable conservation 
                                activities, including those approved by 
                                the Natural Resources Conservation 
                                Service.''; and
                    (B) in subparagraph (B), by adding at the end the 
                following:
                            ``(iv) Safe harbor.--
                                    ``(I) Definition of `cover crop 
                                termination'.--In this clause, the term 
                                `cover crop termination' means a 
                                practice that historically and under 
                                reasonable circumstances results in 
                                termination of the targeted cover crop.
                                    ``(II) Conservation activity.--A 
                                good farming practice includes a 
                                conservation activity, such as cover 
                                crop management, cover crop 
                                termination, and an agronomic 
                                management activity, that is recognized 
                                by--
                                            ``(aa) the Natural 
                                        Resources Conservation Service; 
                                        or
                                            ``(bb) an agricultural 
                                        expert operating in the area in 
                                        which the conservation activity 
                                        is occurring.''; and
            (2) in subsection (j), by adding at the end the following:
            ``(6) Ombudsperson.--The Secretary shall establish an 
        ombudsperson in the Corporation who shall--
                    ``(A) assist producers with understanding--
                            ``(i) the process of appealing claim 
                        denials; and
                            ``(ii) the rights of producers in denied or 
                        arbitrated claims;
                    ``(B) obtain rule clarifications; and
                    ``(C) perform other duties as determined by the 
                Secretary.''.
    (e) Research and Development.--Section 522(c) of the Federal Crop 
Insurance Act (7 U.S.C. 1522(c)) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (19)--
                    (A) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``, with a 
                liability limitation of $1,500,000,''; and
                    (B) by adding at the end the following new 
                subparagraph:
                    ``(E) Paperwork reduction.--The Corporation shall 
                conduct activities or enter into contracts to carry out 
                research and development to develop a paperwork 
                reduction policy that--
                            ``(i) is only available to operations with 
                        less than $1,000,000 in revenue; and
                            ``(ii) streamlines the purchase and 
                        approval process to the maximum extent possible 
                        while maintaining actuarial soundness.''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(25) Report on beginning farmer barriers.--Not later than 
        1 year after the date of enactment of this paragraph, the 
        Corporation 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 includes--
                    ``(A) an assessment of the barriers for beginning 
                farmers in accessing crop insurance, including 
                insurance under paragraph (19); and
                    ``(B) recommendations to address those barriers.
            ``(26) Report on expansion of revenue policy 
        availability.--Not later than 1 year after the date of the 
        enactment of this paragraph, and annually thereafter, the 
        Corporation, in consultation with the Risk Management Agency, 
        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 includes--
                    ``(A) with respect to the year preceding such 
                report, the 10 most widely grown crops by acreage 
                that--
                            ``(i) have yield policies; and
                            ``(ii) do not have revenue policies; and
                    ``(B) the feasibility of developing a revenue 
                policy for each one of the crops described in 
                subparagraph (A).''.
    (f) Conservation Practice-Based Pilot Program.--Section 523 of the 
Federal Crop Insurance Act (7 U.S.C. 1523) is amended by adding at the 
end the following new subsection:
    ``(j) Conservation Practice-Based Pilot Program.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Corporation shall carry out a pilot 
        program to provide premium subsidies of up to 10 percentage 
        points to eligible producers.
            ``(2) Limitation on number of states.--The Corporation 
        shall carry out premium subsidies under this subsection in not 
        more than 6 States with a high State-average loss ratio, as 
        determined by the Secretary.
            ``(3) Expiration.--The pilot program shall expire on a date 
        that is not before 5 years after the date of the enactment of 
        this subsection.
            ``(4) Report.--The Corporation shall publish a report 
        evaluating the participating producers yield records and the 
        success of the pilot in encouraging conservation--
                    ``(A) 1 year after the date of the enactment of 
                this subsection;
                    ``(B) 3 years after the date of the enactment of 
                this subsection; and
                    ``(C) 5 years after the date of the enactment of 
                this subsection.
            ``(5) Eligible producer defined.--In this subsection, the 
        term `eligilbe producer' means a producer--
                    ``(A) of a farm in a high loss county; and
                    ``(B) that commits to practice conservation 
                tillage, cover crops, or resource-conserving crop 
                rotations on such farm for at least 5 years.''.

SEC. 3. AMENDMENTS TO FOOD SECURITY ACT OF 1985.

    (a) Conservation Plans.--Section 1213 of the Food Security Act of 
1985 (16 U.S.C. 3812a) is amended--
            (1) by adding at the end the following new subsection:
    ``(g) Spot Checks.--The Secretary shall, using funds of the 
Commodity Credit Corporation, conduct annual spot checks of at least 5 
percent of applicable farms in each State to ensure compliance with 
this subtitle.''; and
            (2) in subsection (d)--
                    (A) by redesignating paragraph (4) as paragraph 
                (6); and
                    (B) by inserting after paragraph (3) the following 
                new paragraphs:
            ``(4) Ephemeral gully modifications.--
                    ``(A) In general.--In the case of producer on a 
                farm with an existing conservation plan on the date of 
                the enactment of this paragraph, if a compliance review 
                identifies an ephemeral gully that requires treatment 
                and was not included in the plan for such farm, such 
                plan shall be modified to include adequate ephemeral 
                gully control and stabilization.
                    ``(B) Revision.--In the case of a plan revised 
                under subparagraph (A), the producer on the farm shall 
                implement such plan not later than 1 year after the 
                date of the revision of such plan.
                    ``(C) Prohibition.--A producer may not allow an 
                ephemeral gully to advance to the point of becoming a 
                classic gully in an attempt to avoid treatment.
            ``(5) 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 land.''.