I 
117TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 8527 
To establish a Good Steward Cover Crop Program, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 27, 2022 
Mr. CASTEN (for himself and Mrs. AXNE) introduced the following bill; which 
was referred to the Committee on Agriculture 
A BILL 
To establish a Good Steward Cover Crop Program, and for 
other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Conservation Oppor-
tunity and Voluntary Environment Resilience Program 
Act’’ or the ‘‘COVER Act’’. 
SEC. 2. GOOD STEWARD COVER CROP PROGRAM. 
Subtitle A of the Federal Crop Insurance Act (7 
U.S.C. 1501 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end 
the following: 
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‘‘SEC. 525. GOOD STEWARD COVER CROP PROGRAM. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Beginning with crop year 2023, 
the Secretary shall carry out a program (to be known as 
the ‘Good Steward Cover Crop Program’) to provide addi-
tional premium subsidies to producers for each acre— 
‘‘(1) on which qualifying cover crops are plant-
ed during a crop year; and 
‘‘(2) for which the producers— 
‘‘(A) during such crop year— 
‘‘(i) plant crops other than the quali-
fying cover crops; and 
‘‘(ii) purchase insurance under a cov-
ered insurance program with respect to 
such planted crops; and 
‘‘(B) file a report of acreage form to the 
Secretary with respect to such crop year. 
‘‘(b) PREMIUM SUBSIDY AMOUNT.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided para-
graph (2), an additional premium subsidy to a pro-
ducer under subsection (a) shall be— 
‘‘(A) calculated on a common land unit or 
equivalent or more precise basis; and 
‘‘(B) be in an amount equal to— 
‘‘(i) $5, multiplied by 
‘‘(ii) the number of acres of the pro-
ducer described in such subsection. 
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‘‘(2) LIMITATION.—An additional premium sub-
sidy under paragraph (1) shall not exceed the 
amount of the premium owed by the producer with 
respect to the acres described in subsection (a). 
‘‘(3) RULE WITH RESPECT TO A PRODUCER- 
SHARE.—For purposes of the limitation under para-
graph (2), an additional premium subsidy shall be 
modified to reflect the individual producer share of 
such acres. 
‘‘(c) OUTREACH WITH RESPECT TO PROGRAM.— 
‘‘(1) COORDINATION WITH FSA AND NRCS.— 
The Secretary shall, in coordination with the Admin-
istrator of the Farm Service Agency and the Chief 
of the Natural Resources Conservation Service, 
carry out outreach to producers, including under-
served producers, to provide information with re-
spect to— 
‘‘(A) the program under this section, in-
cluding eligibility for the program and the addi-
tional premium subsidies under the program; 
and 
‘‘(B) qualifying cover crops. 
‘‘(2) COOPERATIVE
AGREEMENTS
FOR
OUT-
REACH.—The Secretary shall enter into one or more 
cooperative agreements with organizations capable of 
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assisting with outreach with respect to the program 
under this section to— 
‘‘(A) carry out such outreach; and 
‘‘(B) coordinate with soil and water con-
servation districts to encourage the adoption of 
qualifying cover crop practices. 
‘‘(d) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 
of the enactment of this section, and annually thereafter, 
the Secretary shall, in coordination with the Administrator 
of the Risk Management Agency, the Administrator of the 
Farm Service Agency, and the Chief of the Natural Re-
sources Conservation Service, submit to Congress a report 
that includes— 
‘‘(1) a summary of the activities carried out 
under this section, including— 
‘‘(A) the number and amount of premium 
subsidies provided to producers under this sec-
tion; 
‘‘(B) the number of acres of cover crops 
planted for which a premium subsidy was re-
ceived; and 
‘‘(C) the outreach carried out under sub-
section (c); and 
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‘‘(2) recommendations to increase the number 
of producers that qualify for the additional premium 
subsidies under the program under this section. 
‘‘(e) FUNDING.— 
‘‘(1) MANDATORY FUNDING.—Of the funds of 
the Corporation, the Secretary shall use such sums 
as are necessary to carry out this section. 
‘‘(2) RESERVATION
FOR
TECHNICAL
ASSIST-
ANCE, OUTREACH, AND PROGRAM SUPPORT.—Of the 
amounts made available under paragraph (1) for a 
fiscal year, the Secretary shall reserve $5,000,000 to 
carry out technical assistance, outreach, and pro-
gram support with respect to the program under this 
section. 
‘‘(f) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
‘‘(1) COVERED
INSURANCE
PROGRAM.—The 
term ‘covered insurance program’ means a plan of 
insurance offered by the Corporation, as determined 
by the Secretary. 
‘‘(2) QUALIFYING
COVER
CROP.—The term 
‘qualifying cover crop’ means cereals or other 
grasses, legumes, brassicas, non-legume broadleaves, 
or any combination thereof that are planted for con-
servation purposes in accordance with— 
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‘‘(A) 
Natural 
Resources 
Conservation 
Service guidance; and 
‘‘(B) additional expert guidance, as deter-
mined by the Secretary. 
‘‘(3) UNDERSERVED
PRODUCER.—The term 
‘underserved producer’ has the meaning given the 
term in section 508(a)(7)(A)(ii).’’. 
SEC. 3. SOIL HEALTH PILOT PROGRAM. 
Section 523 of the Federal Crop Insurance Act (7 
U.S.C. 1523) is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(j) SOIL HEALTH PILOT PROGRAM.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In addition to any other 
authority of the Corporation, the Corporation shall 
establish and carry out a pilot program under which 
a producer who uses innovative soil health practices 
may receive additional premium subsidies on 
multiperil crop insurance, as determined by the Cor-
poration. 
‘‘(2) TERMS AND CONDITIONS.—The additional 
premium subsidies offered under the soil health pilot 
program under this subsection shall— 
‘‘(A) be offered through reinsurance ar-
rangements with private insurance companies; 
‘‘(B) be actuarially sound; and 
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‘‘(C) require the payment of premiums and 
administrative fees by a producer obtaining the 
insurance. 
‘‘(3) LOCATION.—The Corporation shall con-
duct the soil health pilot program under this sub-
section in a number of counties that is determined 
by the Corporation to be adequate to provide a com-
prehensive evaluation of the feasibility, effectiveness, 
and demand among producers for the risk manage-
ment tools evaluated in the pilot program. 
‘‘(4) DURATION.—The Corporation shall com-
mence the soil health pilot program under this sub-
section as soon as practicable after the date of the 
enactment of this subsection.’’. 
Æ 
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