I 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 4316 

To provide for the reform and continuation of the beginning farmer and 

rancher program, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

NOVEMBER 8, 2017 

Mr. WALZ (for himself and Mr. FORTENBERRY) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture, and in addition to 

the Committee on Appropriations, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions 

as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To provide for the reform and continuation of the beginning 

farmer and rancher program, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Beginning Farmer and Rancher Opportunity Act of 

6 2017’’. 

7 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of 

8 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 


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TITLE I—CONSERVATION 

Sec. 101. Conservation reserve. 

Sec. 102. Contracts. 

Sec. 103. Establishment and administration of environmental quality incentives 

program. 

Sec. 104. Conservation innovation grants and payments. 

Sec. 105. Commodity Credit Corporation. 

Sec. 106. Agricultural land easements. 

TITLE II—CREDIT 

Sec. 201. Adjustment of maximum limit on amount of direct farm ownership 

loans for regional farm real estate inflation; authority to make 

or guarantee farm ownership microloans. 

Sec. 202. Cooperative agreements. 

Sec. 203. Borrower training. 

Sec. 204. Funding of individual development accounts. 

TITLE III—RURAL DEVELOPMENT 

Sec. 301. Rural microentrepreneur assistance program. 

TITLE IV—RESEARCH, EDUCATION, AND EXTENSION 

Sec. 401. Beginning farmer and rancher development program. 

Sec. 402. Agriculture and Food Research Initiative. 

Sec. 403. Farmland tenure. 

TITLE V—CROP INSURANCE 

Sec. 501. Consistent beginning farmer and rancher definition under Federal 

Crop Insurance Act. 

Sec. 502. Risk management partnership programs. 

Sec. 503. Funding for crop insurance research, development, and maintenance 

costs. 

Sec. 504. Crop insurance education and information for producers. 

Sec. 505. Beginning farmer and rancher disaster assistance. 

Sec. 506. Beginning farmer and rancher crop insurance study. 

TITLE VI—MISCELLANEOUS 

Sec. 601. Small and beginning farmer and rancher coordinators. 

1 TITLE I—CONSERVATION 

2 SEC. 101. CONSERVATION RESERVE. 

3 Section 1231 of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 

4 U.S.C. 3831) is amended— 

5 (1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘2018’’ and 

6 inserting ‘‘2023’’; 

7 (2) in subsection (b)— 


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1 (A) in paragraph (5)(B)(ii), by striking the 

2 period at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

3 (B) by adding at the end the following: 

4 ‘‘(6) land that is transitioning under the terms 

5 of section 1235(f).’’; and 

6 (3) in subsection (d), by adding at the end the 

7 following: 

8 ‘‘(3) TRANSITION OPTIONS.—For the purposes 

9 of applying the limitations in paragraph (1), the 

10 Secretary shall not count acres transitioning under 

11 the terms of section 1235(f).’’. 

12 SEC. 102. CONTRACTS. 

13 Section 1235 of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 

14 U.S.C. 3835) is amended— 

15 (1) in subsection (c)(1)(B)(iii), by striking ‘‘a 

16 retired or retiring owner or operator’’ and inserting 

17 ‘‘an eligible landowner (as defined in section 

18 1235(f)(1)(A))’’; 

19 (2) in subsection (f)— 

20 (A) in the heading by striking ‘‘OPTION’’ 

21 and inserting ‘‘OPTIONS’’; 

22 (B) by striking paragraphs (1) and (2), 

23 and inserting the following: 

24 ‘‘(1) DEFINITIONS.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) ELIGIBLE LANDOWNER.—In this sub2 section, the term ‘eligible landowner’ means a 

3 landowner who is— 

4 ‘‘(i) a current contract holder under 

5 the conservation reserve program; and 

6 ‘‘(ii) in the case of the transition of 

7 farmland through a long-term lease or 

8 rental agreement as outlined in paragraph 

9 (2)(A)(ii), at least 65 years of age. 

10 ‘‘(B) COVERED FARMER.—In this sub11 section, the term ‘covered farmer’ means a be12 ginning farmer or rancher, a socially disadvan13 taged farmer or rancher, or a veteran farmer or 

14 rancher (as defined in section 2501(e) of the 

15 Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act 

16 of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 2279(e))), who is not a fam17 ily member (as defined in section 1001 of this 

18 Act) of the eligible landowner. 

19 ‘‘(2) TRANSITION TO COVERED FARMER.—In 

20 the case of a contract modification approved in order 

21 to facilitate the transfer of land subject to a contract 

22 from an eligible landowner to a covered farmer, the 

23 Secretary shall— 

24 ‘‘(A) allow the eligible landowner to termi25 nate the contract up to— 


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1 ‘‘(i) 3 years early, without penalty, 

2 and beginning on the date of termination, 

3 sell to the covered farmer the land subject 

4 to the contract for production purposes; or 

5 ‘‘(ii) 2 years early, without penalty, 

6 and beginning on the date of termination, 

7 lease (under a long-term lease or a lease 

8 with an option to purchase) to the covered 

9 farmer the land subject to the contract for 

10 production purposes; 

11 ‘‘(B) beginning on the date that is 2 years 

12 before the date of termination of the contract— 

13 ‘‘(i) allow the covered farmer, in con14 junction with the eligible landowner, to 

15 make conservation and land improvements, 

16 including preparing to plant an agricul17 tural crop; and 

18 ‘‘(ii) allow the covered farmer to begin 

19 the certification process under the Organic 

20 Foods Production Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 

21 6501 et seq.); 

22 ‘‘(C) require the covered farmer to develop 

23 and implement a comprehensive conservation 

24 plan that addresses all resource concerns and 


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1 meets such sustainability criteria as the Sec2 retary may establish; 

3 ‘‘(D) provide to the covered farmer an op4 portunity to enroll in the conservation steward5 ship program or the environmental quality in6 centives program at any time beginning on the 

7 date that is 1 year before the date of termi8 nation of the contract, including technical and 

9 financial assistance in the development of a 

10 comprehensive conservation plan; 

11 ‘‘(E) provide the covered farmer with the 

12 option to reenroll any applicable partial field 

13 conservation practice that— 

14 ‘‘(i) is eligible for enrollment under 

15 the continuous signup option pursuant to 

16 section 1234(d)(2)(A)(ii); and 

17 ‘‘(ii) is part of an approved conserva18 tion plan; and 

19 ‘‘(F) continue to make annual payments to 

20 the eligible landowner for not more than— 

21 ‘‘(i) an additional 3 years after the 

22 date of termination of the contract in the 

23 case of the sale of farmland to the covered 

24 farmer; or 


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1 ‘‘(ii) an additional 2 years after the 

2 date of termination of the contract in the 

3 case of a long-term lease of farmland to 

4 the covered farmer.’’. 

5 SEC. 103. ESTABLISHMENT AND ADMINISTRATION OF ENVI6 RONMENTAL QUALITY INCENTIVES PRO7 GRAM. 

8 Section 1240B of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 

9 U.S.C. 3839aa–2) is amended— 

10 (1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘2015’’ and 

11 inserting ‘‘2023’’; and 

12 (2) in subsection (d)(4)(B)— 

13 (A) in clause (i)— 

14 (i) by striking ‘‘Not more than’’ and 

15 inserting ‘‘The Secretary shall provide at 

16 least’’; and 

17 (ii) by striking ‘‘may be provided in 

18 advance for the purpose of’’ and inserting 

19 ‘‘in advance for all costs related to’’; and 

20 (B) in clause (ii), by striking ‘‘90-day’’ and 

21 inserting ‘‘180-day’’. 

22 SEC. 104. CONSERVATION INNOVATION GRANTS AND PAY23 MENTS. 

24 Section 1240H of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 

25 U.S.C. 3839aa–8) is amended in— 


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1 (1) in subsection (a)(2)(D), by inserting ‘‘and 

2 by beginning and socially disadvantaged farmers and 

3 ranchers’’ after ‘‘specialty crops’’; and 

4 (2) in subsection (b)(2), by striking ‘‘2018’’ 

5 and inserting ‘‘2023’’. 

6 SEC. 105. COMMODITY CREDIT CORPORATION. 

7 Section 1241 of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 

8 U.S.C. 3841) is amended— 

9 (1) in subsection (a)— 

10 (A) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), 

11 by striking ‘‘2018’’ and inserting ‘‘2023’’; and 

12 (B) in paragraph (1)— 

13 (i) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘; 

14 and’’ and inserting a semicolon; 

15 (ii) by redesignating subparagraph 

16 (B) as subparagraph (C) and inserting 

17 after subparagraph (A) the following: 

18 ‘‘(B) such sums as are necessary to carry 

19 out section 1235(f) to facilitate the transfer of 

20 land subject to contracts under the conservation 

21 reserve program from an eligible landowner to 

22 beginning farmers or ranchers and socially dis23 advantaged farmers or ranchers; and’’; and 

24 (iii) in subparagraph (C) (as so redes25 ignated)— 


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1 (I) by striking ‘‘$33,000,000’’ 

2 and inserting ‘‘$5,000,000’’; and 

3 (II) by striking ‘‘2014 through 

4 2018’’ and all that follows through 

5 the period at the end and inserting 

6 ‘‘2019 through 2023 for outreach and 

7 technical assistance in carrying out 

8 section 1235(f).’’; and 

9 (2) in subsection (h)(1)— 

10 (A) in the matter preceding subparagraph 

11 (A), by striking ‘‘2018’’ and inserting ‘‘2023’’; 

12 (B) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘5 

13 percent’’ and inserting ‘‘15 percent’’; and 

14 (C) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘5 

15 percent’’ and inserting ‘‘15 percent’’. 

16 SEC. 106. AGRICULTURAL LAND EASEMENTS. 

17 Section 1265B(b)(3) of the Food Security Act of 

18 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3865b(b)(3)) is amended by adding at 

19 the end the following: 

20 ‘‘(D) PRIORITY.—In evaluating applica21 tions under the program, the Secretary shall 

22 give priority to an application for the purchase 

23 of an agricultural land easement that— 

24 ‘‘(i) maintains agricultural viability, 

25 as determined by the Secretary; or 


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1 ‘‘(ii) includes, as a condition of the 

2 easement, a requirement that any subse3 quent purchase of the land subject to the 

4 easement shall be at agricultural value.’’. 

5 TITLE II—CREDIT 

6 SEC. 201. ADJUSTMENT OF MAXIMUM LIMIT ON AMOUNT 

7 OF DIRECT FARM OWNERSHIP LOANS FOR 

8 REGIONAL FARM REAL ESTATE INFLATION; 

9 AUTHORITY TO MAKE OR GUARANTEE FARM 

10 OWNERSHIP MICROLOANS. 

11 Section 305 of the Consolidated Farm and Rural De12 velopment Act (7 U.S.C. 1925) is amended— 

13 (1) in subsection (a)— 

14 (A) by striking ‘‘$300,000’’ and inserting 

15 ‘‘$500,000 (increased, beginning with fiscal 

16 year 2019, by the regional farm real estate in17 flation percentage applicable to the location 

18 where the farm involved is located for the fiscal 

19 year in which the loan is made, and decreased 

20 by the amount of any unpaid indebtedness of 

21 the borrower on direct loans under subtitle B)’’; 

22 and 

23 (B) by inserting ‘‘cost’’ before ‘‘inflation 

24 percentage’’; 

25 (2) in subsection (c)— 


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1 (A) in the subsection heading, by striking 

2 ‘‘INFLATION PERCENTAGE’’ and inserting 

3 ‘‘COST INFLATION PERCENTAGE’’; and 

4 (B) in the text, by inserting ‘‘cost’’ before 

5 ‘‘inflation percentage’’; and 

6 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

7 ‘‘(d) REGIONAL FARM REAL ESTATE INFLATION

8 PERCENTAGE.— 

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of this sec10 tion, the regional farm real estate inflation percent11 age applicable to a farm for a fiscal year is the per12 centage (if any) by which— 

13 ‘‘(A) the regional farm real estate inflation 

14 index developed under paragraph (2) for the re15 gion in which the farm is located, for the 12- 

16 month period ending on August 31 of the im17 mediately preceding fiscal year; exceeds 

18 ‘‘(B) the average of the index (as so de19 fined) for the 12-month period ending on Au20 gust 31, 2018. 

21 ‘‘(2) DEVELOPMENT.—The Secretary shall de22 velop a regional farm real estate inflation index for 

23 measuring periodic changes in the price of farm real 

24 estate in each geographic region of the United 


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1 States, using data from the National Agricultural 

2 Statistics Service. 

3 ‘‘(e) MICROLOANS.— 

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), 

5 the Secretary may establish a program to make or 

6 guarantee microloans. 

7 ‘‘(2) LIMITATIONS.—The Secretary shall not 

8 make or guarantee a microloan under this sub9 section that would cause the total principal indebted10 ness outstanding at any 1 time for microloans made 

11 under this subtitle to any 1 borrower to exceed 

12 $50,000. 

13 ‘‘(3) APPLICATIONS.—To the maximum extent 

14 practicable, the Secretary shall limit the administra15 tive burdens and streamline the application and ap16 proval process for microloans under this sub17 section.’’. 

18 SEC. 202. COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS. 

19 Section 313(c) of the Consolidated Farm and Rural 

20 Development Act (7 U.S.C. 1943(c)) is amended— 

21 (1) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘title’’ and in22 serting ‘‘subtitle’’; and 

23 (2) in paragraph (4)— 


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1 (A) in the paragraph heading, by striking 

2 ‘‘LENDING PILOT PROJECTS’’ and inserting 

3 ‘‘AGREEMENTS’’; 

4 (B) by striking subparagraphs (A) through 

5 (C) and inserting the following: 

6 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara7 graph (B), during each of the 2018 through 

8 2023 fiscal years, the Secretary may enter into 

9 cooperative agreements with community devel10 opment financial institutions and nonprofit or11 ganizations, as the Secretary determines appro12 priate, to provide business, financial, marketing, 

13 and credit management services and technical 

14 assistance to microloan borrowers. 

15 ‘‘(B) ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible for a 

16 cooperative agreement under subparagraph (A), 

17 an institution described in subparagraph (A) 

18 shall, as determined by the Secretary— 

19 ‘‘(i) have a proven track record of suc20 cessfully assisting agricultural borrowers; 

21 and 

22 ‘‘(ii) have the services of a staff with 

23 appropriate expertise in business, financial, 

24 marketing, credit management services, 

25 and technical assistance.’’; 


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1 (3) in subparagraph (D)— 

2 (A) by striking ‘‘(D)’’ and inserting ‘‘(C)’’; 

3 and 

4 (B) by striking ‘‘loan’’ and inserting ‘‘co5 operative agreement’’; and 

6 (4) by striking subparagraph (E). 

7 SEC. 203. BORROWER TRAINING. 

8 Section 359 of the Consolidated Farm and Rural De9 velopment Act (7 U.S.C. 2006a) is amended by adding 

10 at the end the following: 

11 ‘‘(g) COORDINATION.—The Secretary shall ensure, to 

12 the maximum extent practicable, that financial manage13 ment training programs funded under the beginning farm14 er and rancher development program under section 7405 

15 of the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 

16 are designed so that— 

17 ‘‘(1) successful completion of such a financial 

18 management training program will satisfy the bor19 rower training requirements under this section; and 

20 ‘‘(2) a contract to provide such a financial man21 agement training program may be entered into 

22 under subsection (b).’’. 


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1 SEC. 204. FUNDING OF INDIVIDUAL DEVELOPMENT AC2 COUNTS. 

3 Section 333B(h) of the Consolidated Farm and Rural 

4 Development Act (7 U.S.C. 1983b(h)) is amended to read 

5 as follows: 

6 ‘‘(h) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—In ad7 dition to any amounts provided under section 7405 of the 

8 Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 (7 

9 U.S.C. 3319f) for such purpose, there is authorized to be 

10 appropriated to carry out this section $5,000,000 for each 

11 of fiscal years 2019 through 2023.’’. 

12 TITLE III—RURAL 

13 DEVELOPMENT 

14 SEC. 301. RURAL MICROENTREPRENEUR ASSISTANCE PRO15 GRAM. 

16 Section 379E(d) of the Consolidated Farm and Rural 

17 Development Act (7 U.S.C. 2008s(d)) is amended— 

18 (1) by striking paragraph (1) and inserting the 

19 following: 

20 ‘‘(1) MANDATORY FUNDING.—Of the funds of 

21 the Commodity Credit Corporation, the Secretary 

22 shall use $5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2019 

23 through 2023 to carry out this section, to remain 

24 available until expended.’’; and 

25 (2) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘2009 

26 through 2018’’ and inserting ‘‘2019 through 2023’’. 


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1 TITLE IV—RESEARCH, 

2 EDUCATION, AND EXTENSION 

3 SEC. 401. BEGINNING FARMER AND RANCHER DEVELOP4 MENT PROGRAM. 

5 Section 7405 of the Farm Security and Rural Invest6 ment Act of 2002 (7 U.S.C. 3319f) is amended— 

7 (1) by striking subsection (b) and redesignating 

8 subsection (c) as subsection (b); 

9 (2) in subsection (b), as so redesignated— 

10 (A) in the heading, by striking ‘‘GRANTS’’ 

11 and inserting ‘‘PROGRAMS’’; 

12 (B) by amending paragraph (1) to read as 

13 follows: 

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall estab15 lish a beginning farmer and rancher development 

16 program to provide training, education, outreach, 

17 and technical assistance initiatives to increase oppor18 tunities for beginning farmers or ranchers.’’; 

19 (C) by inserting ‘‘or cooperative agree20 ments’’ after ‘‘grants’’ each place it appears; 

21 (D) by inserting ‘‘or cooperative agree22 ment’’ after ‘‘grant’’ each place it appears; 

23 (E) by striking ‘‘subsection’’ each place it 

24 appears and inserting ‘‘section’’; 


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1 (F) in paragraph (3)(A), by striking ‘‘A 

2 grant’’ and inserting ‘‘Except as provided in 

3 subsections (e) and (h), a grant’’; 

4 (G) in paragraph (5)— 

5 (i) by redesignating subparagraphs 

6 (E) and (F) as subparagraphs (F) and 

7 (G), respectively; and 

8 (ii) by inserting after subparagraph 

9 (D) the following new subparagraph: 

10 ‘‘(E) degree of involvement of farmers in 

11 project design, implementation, and decision12 making;’’; and 

13 (H) by striking paragraphs (4), (8), and 

14 (11) and redesignating paragraphs (5), (6), (7), 

15 (9), and (10) as paragraphs (4), (5), (6), (7), 

16 and (8), respectively; 

17 (3) by inserting after subsection (b), as so re18 designated, the following new subsection: 

19 ‘‘(c) GRANT REQUIREMENTS.— 

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out this sub21 section, the Secretary shall make competitive grants 

22 to support new and established local and regional 

23 training, education, outreach, and technical assist24 ance initiatives to increase opportunities for beginVerDate Sep 11 2014 19:55 Nov 13, 2017 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00017 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4316.IH H4316

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1 ning farmers or ranchers, including programs and 

2 services (as appropriate) relating to— 

3 ‘‘(A) basic livestock, forest management 

4 and crop farming practices; 

5 ‘‘(B) innovative farm, ranch, and private 

6 nonindustrial forest land access, and transfer 

7 and succession strategies and programs; 

8 ‘‘(C) entrepreneurship and business train9 ing; 

10 ‘‘(D) financial and risk management train11 ing (including the acquisition and management 

12 of agricultural credit); 

13 ‘‘(E) natural resource management and 

14 planning; 

15 ‘‘(F) diversification and marketing strate16 gies; 

17 ‘‘(G) curriculum development; 

18 ‘‘(H) mentoring, apprenticeships, and in19 ternships; 

20 ‘‘(I) resources and referral; 

21 ‘‘(J) farm financial benchmarking; 

22 ‘‘(K) technical assistance to help beginning 

23 farmers or ranchers in acquiring land from re24 tiring farmers and ranchers; 


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1 ‘‘(L) agricultural rehabilitation and voca2 tional training for veterans; 

3 ‘‘(M) food safety (including good agricul4 tural practices training); 

5 ‘‘(N) farm safety and awareness; and 

6 ‘‘(O) other similar subject areas of use to 

7 beginning farmers or ranchers. 

8 ‘‘(2) SET-ASIDE.— 

9 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not less than 5 per10 cent of the funds used to carry out this sub11 section for a fiscal year shall be used to support 

12 programs and services that specifically focus on 

13 addressing the needs of— 

14 ‘‘(i) limited resource beginning farm15 ers or ranchers (as defined by the Sec16 retary); 

17 ‘‘(ii) socially disadvantaged farmers or 

18 ranchers (as defined in section 355(e) of 

19 the Consolidated Farm and Rural Develop20 ment Act (7 U.S.C. 2003(e)) who are be21 ginning farmers and ranchers; and 

22 ‘‘(iii) farmworkers desiring to become 

23 farmers or ranchers. 

24 ‘‘(B) VETERAN FARMERS AND RANCH25 ERS.—Not less than 5 percent of the funds 


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1 used to carry out this subsection for a fiscal 

2 year shall be used to support programs and 

3 services that specifically focus on addressing the 

4 needs of veteran farmers and ranchers (as de5 fined in section 2501(e) of the Food, Agri6 culture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990 

7 (7 U.S.C. 2279(e)). 

8 ‘‘(3) LIMITATION ON INDIRECT COSTS.—A re9 cipient of a grant under this subsection may not use 

10 more than 15 percent of the grant funds for the in11 direct costs of carrying out the initiatives described 

12 in paragraph (1).’’; 

13 (4) in subsection (d)— 

14 (A) in paragraph (1)— 

15 (i) by striking ‘‘and conduct’’ and in16 serting ‘‘, conduct’’; and 

17 (ii) by striking the period at the end 

18 and inserting ‘‘, or provide training and 

19 technical assistance initiatives for begin20 ning farmers or ranchers or for trainers 

21 and service providers that work with begin22 ning farmers or ranchers.’’; 

23 (B) in paragraph (2)— 

24 (i) by inserting ‘‘, educational pro25 grams and workshops, or training and 


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1 technical assistance initiatives’’ after ‘‘cur2 ricula’’; and 

3 (ii) by striking ‘‘modules’’ and insert4 ing ‘‘content’’; 

5 (C) by amending paragraph (4) to read as 

6 follows: 

7 ‘‘(4) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT.—Notwith8 standing chapter 63 of title 31, the Secretary may 

9 enter into a cooperative agreement to reflect the 

10 terms of any cooperation under this subsection.’’; 

11 (5) in subsection (e)— 

12 (A) by striking ‘‘The Secretary shall’’ and 

13 inserting the following: 

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall’’; and 

15 (B) by adding at the end the following new 

16 paragraphs: 

17 ‘‘(2) FUNDS.—The Secretary shall not use 

18 more than $100,000 each year to support the activi19 ties under this subsection. 

20 ‘‘(3) REVIEW.—The Secretary shall review the 

21 activities and performance of the clearinghouse 

22 under this section every 5 years. 

23 ‘‘(4) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT.—Notwith24 standing chapter 63 of title 31, the Secretary may 


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1 enter into a cooperative agreement to reflect the 

2 terms of any cooperation under this subsection.’’; 

3 (6) in subsection (g)— 

4 (A) by inserting ‘‘(including retiring farm5 ers and non-farming landowners)’’ before ‘‘from 

6 participating in programs’’; and 

7 (B) by striking ‘‘educating’’ and inserting 

8 ‘‘increasing opportunities for’’; 

9 (7) by redesignating subsection (h) as sub10 section (i), and inserting after subsection (g) the fol11 lowing new subsection: 

12 ‘‘(h) INDIVIDUAL DEVELOPMENT ACCOUNTS.— 

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may transfer 

14 up to $10,000,000 (plus allocable costs) per year of 

15 funds made available under this section for indi16 vidual development accounts as authorized under 

17 section 333B of the Consolidated Farm and Rural 

18 Development Act (7 U.S.C. 1983b). 

19 ‘‘(2) ADMINISTRATIVE COST.—The Secretary 

20 may not use more than 4 percent of the funds trans21 ferred under this subsection for administrative costs 

22 incurred in implementing the individual development 

23 accounts authorized under section 333B of the Con24 solidated Farm and Rural Development Act (7 

25 U.S.C. 1983b).’’; and 


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1 (8) in subsection (i), as so redesignated— 

2 (A) in paragraph (1)— 

3 (i) in the heading, by striking ‘‘FOR

4 FISCAL YEARS 2009 THROUGH 2018’’; 

5 (ii) in subparagraph (B), by striking 

6 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

7 (iii) in subparagraph (C), by striking 

8 ‘‘, to remain available until expended.’’ and 

9 inserting a semicolon; and 

10 (iv) by adding at the end the following 

11 new subparagraphs: 

12 ‘‘(D) $30,000,000 for each of fiscal years 

13 2019 through 2020; 

14 ‘‘(E) $40,000,000 for each of fiscal years 

15 2021 through 2022; and 

16 ‘‘(F) $50,000,000 for each of fiscal years 

17 2023 and each fiscal year thereafter, to remain 

18 available until expended.’’; and 

19 (B) in paragraph (2)— 

20 (i) in the paragraph heading, by strik21 ing ‘‘FOR FISCAL YEARS 2014 THROUGH

22 2018’’; and 

23 (ii) by striking ‘‘2018’’ and inserting 

24 ‘‘2023’’. 


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1 SEC. 402. AGRICULTURE AND FOOD RESEARCH INITIATIVE. 

2 Subsection (b) of the Competitive, Special, and Fa3 cilities Research Grant Act (7 U.S.C. 450i(b)) is amend4 ed— 

5 (1) in paragraph (2)(F)— 

6 (A) in clause (vi), by striking ‘‘and’’; 

7 (B) in clause (vii), by striking the period 

8 and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

9 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

10 ‘‘(viii) barriers and bridges to entry 

11 and farm viability for young, beginning, so12 cially disadvantaged, veteran, and immi13 grant farmers and ranchers, including 

14 farm succession, transition, transfer, entry, 

15 and profitability issues.’’; and 

16 (2) in paragraph (11)(A)— 

17 (A) in the matter preceding clause (i), by 

18 striking ‘‘2018’’ and inserting ‘‘2023’’; and 

19 (B) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘pursuant to’’ 

20 and inserting ‘‘as defined in’’. 

21 SEC. 403. FARMLAND TENURE. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall collect and re23 port data and analysis on farmland ownership, tenure, 

24 transition, and entry of beginning farmers. 

25 (b) REQUIREMENTS.—In carrying out subsection (a), 

26 the Secretary shall, at a minimum— 


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1 (1) collect and distribute comprehensive annual 

2 reporting of trends in farmland ownership, tenure, 

3 transition, barriers to entry, profitability and viabil4 ity of beginning farmers; 

5 (2) develop surveys and report statistical and 

6 economic analysis on farmland ownership, tenure, 

7 transition, barriers to entry, profitability and viabil8 ity of beginning farmers, including a regular follow9 on survey to each Census of Agriculture; and 

10 (3) authorize the National Agricultural Statis11 tics Service to create and administer a follow-on sur12 vey to the Tenure, Ownership, and Transition of Ag13 ricultural Land survey to— 

14 (A) investigate the extent to which non15 farming landowners are purchasing and holding 

16 onto farmland for the sole purpose of real es17 tate investment; and 

18 (B) the impact of these farmland owner19 ship trends on the successful entry and viability 

20 of beginning farmers. 

21 (c) FUNDING.—There are authorized to be appro22 priated to carry out this section $2,000,000 for each of 

23 fiscal years 2019 through 2023, to remain available until 

24 expended. 


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1 TITLE V—CROP INSURANCE 

2 SEC. 501. CONSISTENT BEGINNING FARMER AND RANCHER 

3 DEFINITION UNDER FEDERAL CROP INSUR4 ANCE ACT. 

5 Section 502(b)(3) of the Federal Crop Insurance Act 

6 (7 U.S.C. 1502(b)(3)) is amended— 

7 (1) by striking ‘‘landlord’’; and 

8 (2) by striking ‘‘5 crop years’’ and inserting 

9 ‘‘10 crop years’’. 

10 SEC. 502. RISK MANAGEMENT PARTNERSHIP PROGRAMS. 

11 Section 522(d) of the Federal Crop Insurance Act (7 

12 U.S.C. 1522(d)) is amended— 

13 (1) in paragraph (1)(A), by inserting after 

14 ‘‘risk management tools’’ the second place it appears 

15 the following: ‘‘for underserved producers, including 

16 beginning farmers and ranchers and socially dis17 advantaged farmers and ranchers and’’; 

18 (2) in paragraph (2), by inserting after ‘‘risk 

19 management and marketing options’’ the following: 

20 ‘‘for underserved producers, including beginning 

21 farmers and ranchers and socially disadvantaged 

22 farmers and ranchers and’’; 

23 (3) in paragraph (3)— 

24 (A) in subparagraph (F), by inserting after 

25 ‘‘financial management’’ the following: ‘‘(includVerDate Sep 11 2014 19:55 Nov 13, 2017 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00026 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4316.IH H4316

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1 ing to meet insurance product record keeping 

2 requirements)’’; and 

3 (B) in subparagraph (H) by inserting after 

4 ‘‘to develop’’ the following: ‘‘value-added, diver5 sification, and’’; and 

6 (4) by adding at the end the following new 

7 paragraph: 

8 ‘‘(4) REQUIREMENTS.—In carrying out the pro9 grams established under paragraphs (2) and (3), the 

10 Secretary shall place special emphasis on risk man11 agement techniques, tools, and programs that are 

12 specifically intended for underserved producers, in13 cluding beginning farmers and ranchers and socially 

14 disadvantaged farmers and ranchers.’’. 

15 SEC. 503. FUNDING FOR CROP INSURANCE RESEARCH, DE16 VELOPMENT, AND MAINTENANCE COSTS. 

17 Section 522(e) of the Federal Crop Insurance Act (7 

18 U.S.C. 1522(e)) is amended by striking paragraph (3). 

19 SEC. 504. CROP INSURANCE EDUCATION AND INFORMA20 TION FOR PRODUCERS. 

21 Section 524(a) of the Federal Crop Insurance Act (7 

22 U.S.C. 1524(a)) is amended— 

23 (1) in paragraph (3)(A), by inserting after 

24 ‘‘benchmarking’’ the following: ‘‘, crop enterprise, 

25 and market diversification’’; and 


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1 (2) in paragraph (4)— 

2 (A) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of sub3 paragraph (D)(i); 

4 (B) by striking the period at the end of 

5 subparagraph (E) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

6 (C) by adding at the end the following new 

7 subparagraph: 

8 ‘‘(F) farmers and ranchers that are consid9 ering whole-farm based revenue products.’’. 

10 SEC. 505. BEGINNING FARMER AND RANCHER DISASTER 

11 ASSISTANCE. 

12 Section 196 of the Federal Agriculture Improvement 

13 and Reform Act of 1996 (7 U.S.C. 7333) is amended— 

14 (1) in subsection (a)(2), by adding at the end 

15 the following new subparagraph: 

16 ‘‘(D) INCLUSION OF BEGINNING FARMERS

17 AND RANCHERS.—The term ‘eligible crop’ in18 cludes each commercial crop or other agricul19 tural commodity (except livestock) produced by 

20 a beginning farmer or rancher, even though the 

21 commercial crop or other agricultural com22 modity fails to satisfy clause (i) or (ii) of sub23 paragraph (A), if the beginning farmer or 

24 rancher is ineligible for a whole farm diversified 

25 risk management insurance plan under the 


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1 Federal Crop Insurance Act due to lack of pro2 duction or revenue history.’’; 

3 (2) in subsection (e), by adding at the end the 

4 following new paragraph: 

5 ‘‘(7) SPECIAL RULE FOR BEGINNING FARMERS

6 AND RANCHERS.—If the eligible producer is a begin7 ning farmer or rancher (as defined in section 

8 502(b)(3)), and was previously involved in a farming 

9 operation, including involvement in the decision 

10 making or physical involvement in the production of 

11 the crop or livestock on the farm, for any acreage 

12 obtained by the beginning farmer or rancher, a yield 

13 or revenue shall be used that is the higher of— 

14 ‘‘(A) the actual production of the previous 

15 producer of the crop on the acreage determined 

16 under subparagraph (2); or 

17 ‘‘(B) the yield or revenue of the producer, 

18 as determined under paragraph (3).’’; 

19 (3) in subsection (k)(1)— 

20 (A) by striking ‘‘for an eligible crop’’; and 

21 (B) by striking ‘‘for the eligible crop’’; 

22 (4) in subsection (l)— 

23 (A) by striking paragraphs (3) and (5); 

24 and 


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1 (B) by inserting after paragraph (2) the 

2 following new paragraph (3): 

3 ‘‘(3) DELEGATION.—The Secretary may dele4 gate the authority for determining the average mar5 ket price (including the direct market price and the 

6 organic price) for a crop to a State Farm Service 

7 Agency administrator when sufficient data is avail8 able to develop an average market price based on 

9 State level data for the crop.’’; and 

10 (5) by adding at the end the following new sub11 sections: 

12 ‘‘(m) ADDITIONAL BEGINNING FARMER PROVI13 SIONS.— 

14 ‘‘(1) ELIGIBILITY.—Notwithstanding any other 

15 provisions of this section, the following additional 

16 coverage shall be made available to any beginning 

17 farmer or rancher for up to the longer of the fol18 lowing: 

19 ‘‘(A) Four years. 

20 ‘‘(B) The requisite number of years of rev21 enue history required for the farmer or rancher 

22 to qualify for revenue coverage offered under 

23 the Federal Crop Insurance Act. 

24 ‘‘(2) COVERAGE.—Additional coverage shall be 

25 available to beginning farmers and ranchers under 


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1 this subsection up to 75 percent, as elected by the 

2 farmer or rancher and specified in 5-percent incre3 ments. 

4 ‘‘(n) REVENUE COVERAGE.— 

5 ‘‘(1) AVAILABILITY.—Eligible producers may 

6 elect revenue coverage under this subsection only 

7 when the total acres in which they have a risk do 

8 not exceed five acres in a county. If revenue cov9 erage is elected, that election shall apply to all eligi10 ble crops and commodities on a farm. 

11 ‘‘(2) PAYMENT.—The Secretary shall make 

12 available noninsured assistance under this subsection 

13 at a payment amount equivalent to the amount 

14 that— 

15 ‘‘(A) the expected revenue for the farm, as 

16 determined by the Secretary, multiplied by the 

17 coverage level elected by the producer, which 

18 is— 

19 ‘‘(i) for catastrophic level coverage, 

20 27.5 percent; or 

21 ‘‘(ii) for additional levels of coverage, 

22 the amount elected by the producer, from 

23 50 to 65 percent, or from 50 to 75 percent 

24 for a beginning farmer or rancher (as de25 fined in section 502(b)(3)); exceeds 


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1 ‘‘(B) the actual revenue for the farm, as 

2 determined by the Secretary. 

3 ‘‘(3) SERVICE FEE.—To be eligible to receive a 

4 payment under this subsection, the producer must 

5 pay the service fee required by subsection (k). 

6 ‘‘(4) PREMIUM.—To be eligible to receive a pay7 ment under the additional levels of coverage in para8 graph (2)(B)(ii), the producer must pay a premium 

9 equal to— 

10 ‘‘(A) the lesser of— 

11 ‘‘(i) the sum of the premiums for each 

12 eligible farm, with the premium for each 

13 eligible farm obtained by multiplying— 

14 ‘‘(I) the expected revenue for the 

15 farm, as determined by the Secretary; 

16 ‘‘(II) the coverage level elected by 

17 the producer; and 

18 ‘‘(III) a 5.25-percent premium 

19 fee; or 

20 ‘‘(ii) the product obtained by multi21 plying— 

22 ‘‘(I) a 5.25-percent premium fee; 

23 and 

24 ‘‘(II) the applicable payment 

25 limit. 


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1 ‘‘(5) RECORDS.—If revenue coverage is elected, 

2 a producer is not required to provide an acreage re3 port under subsection (b)(3), but the producer must 

4 provide a Farm Operation Report and tax records 

5 for prior years, as determined by the Secretary.’’. 

6 SEC. 506. BEGINNING FARMER AND RANCHER CROP INSUR7 ANCE STUDY. 

8 Not later than one year after the date of the enact9 ment of this Act, the Secretary of Agriculture shall submit 

10 to Congress a report identifying— 

11 (1) the barriers that exist to prevent or hinder 

12 the ability of beginning farmers and ranchers in ac13 cessing whole farm revenue insurance and other crop 

14 insurance products available under the Federal Crop 

15 Insurance Act; and 

16 (2) the regulatory or operational changes that 

17 are necessary to provide beginning farmers and 

18 ranchers with full, unhindered access to these crop 

19 insurance products. 

20 TITLE VI—MISCELLANEOUS 

21 SEC. 601. SMALL AND BEGINNING FARMER AND RANCHER 

22 COORDINATORS. 

23 Section 226 of the Department of Agriculture Reor24 ganization Act of 1994 (7 U.S.C. 6934) is amended by 

25 adding at the end the following new subsection: 


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1 ‘‘(i) STATE SMALL AND BEGINNING FARMER AND

2 RANCHER COORDINATOR.— 

3 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Agency shall designate 

4 a State small and beginning farmer and rancher co5 ordinator from among the State office employees of 

6 the Farm Service Agency, the Natural Resources 

7 Conservation Service, the Risk Management Agency, 

8 the Rural Business-Cooperative Service, and the 

9 Rural Utilities Service. 

10 ‘‘(2) TRAINING.—The Agency shall coordinate 

11 the development of a training plan so that each 

12 State coordinator shall receive sufficient training to 

13 have a general working knowledge of the programs 

14 and services available from each agency of the De15 partment to assist small and beginning farmers and 

16 ranchers. 

17 ‘‘(3) DUTIES.—The coordinator shall— 

18 ‘‘(A) coordinate technical assistance at the 

19 State level to help small farms and beginning 

20 farmers and ranchers gain access to programs 

21 of the Department; 

22 ‘‘(B) develop and submit a State plan for 

23 approval by the Small Farms and Beginning 

24 Farmers and Ranchers Group to provide coordi25 nation to ensure adequate services to small and 


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1 beginning farmers and ranchers at all county 

2 and area offices throughout the State; 

3 ‘‘(C) oversee implementation of the ap4 proved State plan; 

5 ‘‘(D) work with outreach coordinators in 

6 the State offices of the Farm Service Agency, 

7 the Natural Resources Conservation Service, 

8 the Risk Management Agency, the Rural Busi9 ness-Cooperative Service, and the Rural Utili10 ties Service to ensure appropriate information 

11 about technical assistance is available at out12 reach events and activities; and 

13 ‘‘(E) facilitate partnerships and joint out14 reach efforts with State organizations serving 

15 small and beginning farmers through contracts 

16 and cooperative agreements.’’. 

Æ 


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