I 
112TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 6233 
To make supplemental agricultural disaster assistance available for fiscal 
year 2012 with the costs of such assistance offset by changes to certain 
conservation programs, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 31, 2012 
Mr. LUCAS introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 
on Agriculture 
A BILL 
To make supplemental agricultural disaster assistance avail-
able for fiscal year 2012 with the costs of such assistance 
offset by changes to certain conservation programs, 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 ‘‘Agricultural Disaster 
Assistance Act of 2012’’. 
SEC. 2. SUPPLEMENTAL AGRICULTURAL DISASTER ASSIST-
ANCE. 
(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
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(1) ELIGIBLE PRODUCER ON A FARM.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘eligible pro-
ducer on a farm’’ means an individual or entity 
described in subparagraph (B) that, as deter-
mined by the Secretary, assumes the production 
and market risks associated with the agricul-
tural production of crops or livestock. 
(B) DESCRIPTION.—An individual or enti-
ty referred to in subparagraph (A) is— 
(i) a citizen of the United States; 
(ii) a resident alien; 
(iii) a partnership of citizens of the 
United States; or 
(iv) a corporation, limited liability cor-
poration, or other farm organizational 
structure organized under State law. 
(2) FARM-RAISED
FISH.—The term ‘‘farm- 
raised fish’’ means any aquatic species that is propa-
gated and reared in a controlled environment. 
(3) LIVESTOCK.—The term ‘‘livestock’’ in-
cludes— 
(A) cattle (including dairy cattle); 
(B) bison; 
(C) poultry; 
(D) sheep; 
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(E) swine; 
(F) horses; and 
(G) other livestock, as determined by the 
Secretary. 
(4) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 
the Secretary of Agriculture. 
(b) LIVESTOCK INDEMNITY PAYMENTS.— 
(1) PAYMENTS.—For fiscal year 2012, the Sec-
retary shall use such sums as are necessary of the 
funds of the Commodity Credit Corporation to make 
livestock indemnity payments to eligible producers 
on farms that have incurred livestock death losses in 
excess of the normal mortality, as determined by the 
Secretary, due to— 
(A) attacks by animals reintroduced into 
the wild by the Federal Government or pro-
tected by Federal law, including wolves and 
avian predators; or 
(B) adverse weather, as determined by the 
Secretary, during the calendar year, including 
losses due to hurricanes, floods, blizzards, dis-
ease, wildfires, extreme heat, and extreme cold. 
(2) PAYMENT RATES.—Indemnity payments to 
an eligible producer on a farm under paragraph (1) 
shall be made at a rate of 75 percent of the market 
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value of the applicable livestock on the day before 
the date of death of the livestock, as determined by 
the Secretary. 
(3) SPECIAL RULE FOR PAYMENTS MADE DUE 
TO DISEASE.—The Secretary shall ensure that pay-
ments made to an eligible producer under paragraph 
(1) are not made for the same livestock losses for 
which compensation is provided pursuant to section 
10407(d) of the Animal Health Protection Act (7 
U.S.C. 8306(d)). 
(c) LIVESTOCK FORAGE DISASTER PROGRAM.— 
(1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 
(A) COVERED LIVESTOCK.— 
(i) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided 
in clause (ii), the term ‘‘covered livestock’’ 
means livestock of an eligible livestock pro-
ducer that, during the 60 days prior to the 
beginning date of a qualifying drought or 
fire condition, as determined by the Sec-
retary, the eligible livestock producer— 
(I) owned; 
(II) leased; 
(III) purchased; 
(IV) entered into a contract to 
purchase; 
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(V) is a contract grower; or 
(VI) sold or otherwise disposed of 
due to qualifying drought conditions 
during— 
(aa) the current production 
year; or 
(bb) subject to paragraph 
(3)(B)(ii), 1 or both of the 2 pro-
duction years immediately pre-
ceding the current production 
year. 
(ii) EXCLUSION.—The term ‘‘covered 
livestock’’ does not include livestock that 
were or would have been in a feedlot, on 
the beginning date of the qualifying 
drought or fire condition, as a part of the 
normal business operation of the eligible 
livestock producer, as determined by the 
Secretary. 
(B) 
DROUGHT
MONITOR.—The 
term 
‘‘drought 
monitor’’ 
means 
a 
system 
for 
classifying drought severity according to a 
range of abnormally dry to exceptional drought, 
as defined by the Secretary. 
(C) ELIGIBLE LIVESTOCK PRODUCER.— 
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(D) NORMAL
CARRYING
CAPACITY.—The 
term ‘‘normal carrying capacity’’, with respect 
to each type of grazing land or pastureland in 
a county, means the normal carrying capacity, 
as determined under paragraph (3)(D)(i), that 
would be expected from the grazing land or 
pastureland for livestock during the normal 
grazing period, in the absence of a drought or 
fire that diminishes the production of the graz-
ing land or pastureland. 
(E) NORMAL GRAZING PERIOD.—The term 
‘‘normal grazing period’’, with respect to a 
county, means the normal grazing period during 
the calendar year for the county, as determined 
under paragraph (3)(D)(i). 
(2) PROGRAM.—For fiscal year 2012, the Sec-
retary shall use such sums as are necessary of the 
funds of the Commodity Credit Corporation to pro-
vide compensation for losses to eligible livestock pro-
ducers due to grazing losses for covered livestock 
due to— 
(A) a drought condition, as described in 
paragraph (3); or 
(B) fire, as described in paragraph (4). 
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(3) ASSISTANCE FOR LOSSES DUE TO DROUGHT 
CONDITIONS.— 
(A) ELIGIBLE LOSSES.— 
(i) IN GENERAL.—An eligible livestock 
producer may receive assistance under this 
subsection only for grazing losses for cov-
ered livestock that occur on land that— 
(I) is native or improved pasture-
land with permanent vegetative cover; 
or 
(II) is planted to a crop planted 
specifically for the purpose of pro-
viding grazing for covered livestock. 
(ii) EXCLUSIONS.—An eligible live-
stock producer may not receive assistance 
under this subsection for grazing losses 
that occur on land used for haying or graz-
ing under the conservation reserve pro-
gram established under subchapter B of 
chapter 1 of subtitle D of title XII of the 
Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 
3831 et seq.). 
(B) MONTHLY PAYMENT RATE.— 
(i) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided 
in clause (ii), the payment rate for assist-
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ance under this paragraph for 1 month 
shall, in the case of drought, be equal to 
60 percent of the lesser of— 
(I) the monthly feed cost for all 
covered livestock owned or leased by 
the eligible livestock producer, as de-
termined under subparagraph (C); or 
(II) the monthly feed cost cal-
culated by using the normal carrying 
capacity of the eligible grazing land of 
the eligible livestock producer. 
(ii) PARTIAL COMPENSATION.—In the 
case of an eligible livestock producer that 
sold or otherwise disposed of covered live-
stock due to drought conditions in 1 or 
both of the 2 production years immediately 
preceding the current production year, as 
determined by the Secretary, the payment 
rate shall be 80 percent of the payment 
rate otherwise calculated in accordance 
with clause (i). 
(C) MONTHLY FEED COST.— 
(i) IN GENERAL.—The monthly feed 
cost shall equal the product obtained by 
multiplying— 
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(I) 30 days; 
(II) a payment quantity that is 
equal to the feed grain equivalent, as 
determined under clause (ii); and 
(III) a payment rate that is equal 
to the corn price per pound, as deter-
mined under clause (iii). 
(ii) FEED GRAIN EQUIVALENT.—For 
purposes of clause (i)(II), the feed grain 
equivalent shall equal— 
(I) in the case of an adult beef 
cow, 15.7 pounds of corn per day; or 
(II) in the case of any other type 
of weight of livestock, an amount de-
termined by the Secretary that rep-
resents the average number of pounds 
of corn per day necessary to feed the 
livestock. 
(iii) CORN PRICE PER POUND.—For 
purposes of clause (i)(III), the corn price 
per pound shall equal the quotient ob-
tained by dividing— 
(I) the higher of— 
(aa) the national average 
corn price per bushel for the 12- 
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month period immediately pre-
ceding March 1 of the year for 
which the disaster assistance is 
calculated; or 
(bb) the national average 
corn price per bushel for the 24- 
month period immediately pre-
ceding that March 1; by 
(II) 56. 
(D) 
NORMAL
GRAZING
PERIOD
AND 
DROUGHT MONITOR INTENSITY.— 
(i) FSA COUNTY COMMITTEE DETER-
MINATIONS.— 
(I) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary 
shall determine the normal carrying 
capacity and normal grazing period 
for each type of grazing land or 
pastureland in the county served by 
the applicable committee. 
(II) CHANGES.—No change to 
the normal carrying capacity or nor-
mal grazing period established for a 
county under subclause (I) shall be 
made unless the change is requested 
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by the appropriate State and county 
Farm Service Agency committees. 
(ii) DROUGHT INTENSITY.— 
(I) D2.—An eligible livestock 
producer that owns or leases grazing 
land or pastureland that is physically 
located in a county that is rated by 
the U.S. Drought Monitor as having a 
D2 (severe drought) intensity in any 
area of the county for at least 8 con-
secutive weeks during the normal 
grazing period for the county, as de-
termined by the Secretary, shall be el-
igible to receive assistance under this 
paragraph in an amount equal to 1 
monthly payment using the monthly 
payment rate determined under sub-
paragraph (B). 
(II) D3.—An eligible livestock 
producer that owns or leases grazing 
land or pastureland that is physically 
located in a county that is rated by 
the U.S. Drought Monitor as having 
at least a D3 (extreme drought) in-
tensity in any area of the county at 
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any time during the normal grazing 
period for the county, as determined 
by the Secretary, shall be eligible to 
receive assistance under this para-
graph— 
(aa) in an amount equal to 
2 monthly payments using the 
monthly payment rate deter-
mined under subparagraph (B); 
or 
(bb) if the county is rated as 
having a D3 (extreme drought) 
intensity in any area of the coun-
ty for at least 4 weeks during the 
normal grazing period for the 
county, or is rated as having a 
D4 (exceptional drought) inten-
sity in any area of the county at 
any time during the normal graz-
ing period, in an amount equal to 
3 monthly payments using the 
monthly payment rate deter-
mined under subparagraph (B). 
(4) ASSISTANCE FOR LOSSES DUE TO FIRE ON 
PUBLIC MANAGED LAND.— 
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the managed rangeland for grazing; 
and 
(II) ending on the last day of the 
Federal lease of the eligible livestock 
producer. 
(ii) LIMITATION.—An eligible livestock 
producer may only receive assistance under 
this paragraph for losses that occur on not 
more than 180 days per year. 
(5) NO DUPLICATIVE PAYMENTS.—An eligible 
livestock producer may elect to receive assistance for 
grazing or pasture feed losses due to drought condi-
tions under paragraph (3) or fire under paragraph 
(4), but not both for the same loss, as determined 
by the Secretary. 
(d) EMERGENCY
ASSISTANCE
FOR
LIVESTOCK, 
HONEY BEES, AND FARM-RAISED FISH.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—For fiscal year 2012, the 
Secretary shall use not more than $20,000,000 of 
the funds of the Commodity Credit Corporation to 
provide emergency relief to eligible producers of live-
stock, honey bees, and farm-raised fish to aid in the 
reduction of losses due to disease (including cattle 
tick fever), adverse weather, or other conditions, 
such as blizzards and wildfires, as determined by the 
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Secretary, that are not covered under subsection (b) 
or (c). 
(2) USE
OF
FUNDS.—Funds made available 
under this subsection shall be used to reduce losses 
caused by feed or water shortages, disease, or other 
factors as determined by the Secretary. 
(3) AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS.—Any funds made 
available under this subsection shall remain available 
until expended. 
(e) TREE ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.— 
(1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 
(A) ELIGIBLE
ORCHARDIST.—The term 
‘‘eligible orchardist’’ means a person that pro-
duces annual crops from trees for commercial 
purposes. 
(B) NATURAL DISASTER.—The term ‘‘nat-
ural disaster’’ means plant disease, insect infes-
tation, drought, fire, freeze, flood, earthquake, 
lightning, or other occurrence, as determined by 
the Secretary. 
(C) NURSERY TREE GROWER.—The term 
‘‘nursery tree grower’’ means a person who pro-
duces nursery, ornamental, fruit, nut, or Christ-
mas trees for commercial sale, as determined by 
the Secretary. 
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(D) TREE.—The term ‘‘tree’’ includes a 
tree, bush, and vine. 
(2) ELIGIBILITY.— 
(A) LOSS.—Subject to subparagraph (B), 
for fiscal year 2012, the Secretary shall use 
such sums as are necessary of the funds of the 
Commodity Credit Corporation to provide as-
sistance— 
(i) under paragraph (3) to eligible or-
chardists and nursery tree growers that 
planted trees for commercial purposes but 
lost the trees as a result of a natural dis-
aster, as determined by the Secretary; and 
(ii) under paragraph (3)(B) to eligible 
orchardists and nursery tree growers that 
have a production history for commercial 
purposes on planted or existing trees but 
lost the trees as a result of a natural dis-
aster, as determined by the Secretary. 
(B) LIMITATION.—An eligible orchardist 
or nursery tree grower shall qualify for assist-
ance under subparagraph (A) only if the tree 
mortality of the eligible orchardist or nursery 
tree grower, as a result of damaging weather or 
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related condition, exceeds 15 percent (adjusted 
for normal mortality). 
(3) ASSISTANCE.—Subject to paragraph (4), 
the assistance provided by the Secretary to eligible 
orchardists and nursery tree growers for losses de-
scribed in paragraph (2) shall consist of— 
(A)(i) reimbursement of 70 percent of the 
cost of replanting trees lost due to a natural 
disaster, as determined by the Secretary, in ex-
cess of 15 percent mortality (adjusted for nor-
mal mortality); or 
(ii) at the option of the Secretary, suffi-
cient seedlings to reestablish a stand; and 
(B) reimbursement of 50 percent of the 
cost of pruning, removal, and other costs in-
curred by an eligible orchardist or nursery tree 
grower to salvage existing trees or, in the case 
of tree mortality, to prepare the land to replant 
trees as a result of damage or tree mortality 
due to a natural disaster, as determined by the 
Secretary, in excess of 15 percent damage or 
mortality (adjusted for normal tree damage and 
mortality). 
(4) LIMITATIONS ON ASSISTANCE.— 
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(A) DEFINITIONS OF LEGAL ENTITY AND 
PERSON.—In this paragraph, the terms ‘‘legal 
entity’’ and ‘‘person’’ have the meaning given 
those terms in section 1001(a) of the Food Se-
curity Act of 1985 (7 U.S.C. 1308(a)). 
(B) AMOUNT.—The total amount of pay-
ments received, directly or indirectly, by a per-
son or legal entity (excluding a joint venture or 
general partnership) under this subsection may 
not exceed $100,000 for any crop year, or an 
equivalent value in tree seedlings. 
(C) ACRES.—The total quantity of acres 
planted to trees or tree seedlings for which a 
person or legal entity shall be entitled to receive 
payments under this subsection may not exceed 
500 acres. 
(f) PAYMENT LIMITATIONS.— 
(1) DEFINITIONS OF LEGAL ENTITY AND PER-
SON.—In this subsection, the terms ‘‘legal entity’’ 
and ‘‘person’’ have the meaning given those terms in 
section 1001(a) of the Food Security Act of 1985 (7 
U.S.C. 1308(a)). 
(2) AMOUNT.—The total amount of disaster as-
sistance payments received, directly or indirectly, by 
a person or legal entity (excluding a joint venture or 
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general partnership) under this section (excluding 
payments received under subsection (e)) may not ex-
ceed $100,000 for any crop year. 
(3) AGI LIMITATION.—Section 1001D of the 
Food Security Act of 1985 (7 U.S.C. 1308–3a) or 
any successor provision shall apply with respect to 
assistance provided under this section. 
(4) DIRECT
ATTRIBUTION.—Subsections (e) 
and (f) of section 1001 of the Food Security Act of 
1985 (7 U.S.C. 1308) or any successor provisions 
relating to direct attribution shall apply with respect 
to assistance provided under this section. 
(g) APPLICATION.—This section shall take effect as 
of October 1, 2011, and apply to losses that are incurred 
as the result of a disaster, adverse weather, or other envi-
ronmental condition that occurs on or before September 
30, 2012, as determined by the Secretary. 
(h) DETERMINATIONS
BY SECRETARY.—A deter-
mination made by the Secretary under this section shall 
be final and conclusive. 
(i) REGULATIONS.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—Except as otherwise pro-
vided in this subsection, not later than 90 days after 
the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary and 
the Commodity Credit Corporation, as appropriate, 
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shall promulgate such regulations as are necessary 
to implement this section. 
(2) PROCEDURE.—The promulgation of the reg-
ulations and administration of this section shall be 
made without regard to— 
(A) the notice and comment provisions of 
section 553 of title 5, United States Code; 
(B) chapter 35 of title 44, United States 
Code (commonly known as the ‘‘Paperwork Re-
duction Act’’); and 
(C) the Statement of Policy of the Sec-
retary of Agriculture effective July 24, 1971 
(36 Fed. Reg. 13804), relating to notices of 
proposed rulemaking and public participation in 
rulemaking. 
(3) CONGRESSIONAL REVIEW OF AGENCY RULE-
MAKING.—In carrying out this subsection, the Sec-
retary shall use the authority provided under section 
808 of title 5, United States Code. 
SEC. 3. MODIFICATION OF CERTAIN CONSERVATION PRO-
GRAMS. 
(a) CONSERVATION STEWARDSHIP PROGRAM.—Sec-
tion 1238G(d)(1) of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 
U.S.C. 3838g(d)(1)) is amended by inserting ‘‘(except 
that for fiscal year 2013, the Secretary shall, to the max-
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imum extent practicable, enroll in the program an addi-
tional 11,000,000 acres)’’ before the semicolon. 
(b) ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY INCENTIVES PRO-
GRAM.—Section 1241(a)(6) of the Food Security Act of 
1985 (16 U.S.C. 3841(a)(6)) is amended— 
(1) in subparagraph (D), by striking ‘‘; and’’ 
and inserting a semicolon; and 
(2) by striking subparagraph (E) and inserting 
the following: 
‘‘(E) $1,750,000,000 in fiscal year 2012; 
‘‘(F) $1,400,000,000 in fiscal year 2013; 
and 
‘‘(G) $1,750,000,000 in fiscal year 2014.’’. 
Æ 
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