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a crop of durum wheat of the producers to control Fusarium
head blight (wheat scab) on acres certified to have been
planted to Durum wheat in a crop year.
(b) INSUFFICIENT FUNDS.—If the total amount of
funds appropriated for a fiscal year under subsection (c)
are insufficient to fulfill all eligible requests for compensa-
tion under this section, the Secretary shall prorate the com-
pensation payments in a manner determined by the Sec-
retary to be equitable.
(c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is
authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section
$10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2008 through 2012.
SEC. 1708. STORAGE FACILITY LOANS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—As soon as practicable after the
date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall establish
a storage facility loan program to provide funds for pro-
ducers of grains, oilseeds, pulse crops, hay, renewable bio-
mass, and other storable commodities (other than sugar),
as determined by the Secretary, to construct or upgrade
storage and handling facilities for the commodities.
(b) ELIGIBLE PRODUCERS.—A storage facility loan
under this section shall be made available to any producer
described in subsection (a) that, as determined by the
Secretary—
(1) has a satisfactory credit history;
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(2) has a need for increased storage capacity;
and
(3) demonstrates an ability to repay the loan.
(c) TERM OF LOANS.—A storage facility loan under
this section shall have a maximum term of 12 years.
(d) LOAN AMOUNT.—The maximum principal amount
of a storage facility loan under this section shall be
$500,000.
(e) LOAN DISBURSEMENTS.—The Secretary shall pro-
vide for partial disbursements of loan principal, as deter-
mined to be appropriate and subject to acceptable docu-
mentation, to facilitate the purchase and construction of eli-
gible facilities.
(f) LOAN SECURITY.—Approval of a storage facility
loan under this section shall—
(1) for loan amounts of less than $150,000, not
require a lien on the real estate parcel on which the
storage facility is located;
(2) for loan amounts equal to or more than
$150,000, not require a severance agreement from the
holder of any prior lien on the real estate parcel on
which the storage facility is located, if the borrower—
(A) agrees to increase the down payment on
the storage facility loan by an amount deter-
mined appropriate by the Secretary; or
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(B) provides other security acceptable to the
Secretary; and
(3) allow a borrower, upon the approval of the
Secretary, to define a subparcel of real estate as secu-
rity for the storage facility loan if the subparcel is—
(A) of adequate size and value to adequately
secure the loan; and
(B) not subject to any other liens or mort-
gages that are superior to the lien interest of the
Commodity Credit Corporation.
SEC. 1709. PERSONAL LIABILITY OF PRODUCERS FOR DEFI-
CIENCIES.
Section 164 of the Federal Agriculture Improvement
and Reform Act of 1996 (7 U.S.C. 7284) is amended by
striking ‘‘and title I of the Farm Security and Rural In-
vestment Act of 2002’’ each place it appears and inserting
‘‘title I of the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act
of 2002, and title I of the Food and Energy Security Act
of 2007’’.
SEC. 1710. EXTENSION OF EXISTING ADMINISTRATIVE AU-
THORITY REGARDING LOANS.
Section 166 of the Federal Agriculture Improvement
and Reform Act of 1996 (7 U.S.C. 7286) is amended in
subsections (a) and (c)(1) by striking ‘‘and subtitle B and
C of title I of the Farm Security and Rural Investment
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Act of 2002’’ each place it appears and inserting ‘‘title I
of the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002,
and title I of the Food and Energy Security Act of 2007’’.
SEC. 1711. ASSIGNMENT OF PAYMENTS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—The provisions of section 8(g) of the
Soil Conservation and Domestic Allotment Act (16 U.S.C.
590h(g)), relating to assignment of payments, shall apply
to payments made under the authority of subtitles A
through E and this subtitle.
(b) NOTICE.—The producer making the assignment, or
the assignee, shall provide the Secretary with notice, in such
manner as the Secretary may require, of any assignment
made under this section.
SEC. 1712. COTTON CLASSIFICATION SERVICES.
Section 3a of the Act of March 3, 1927 (7 U.S.C.
473a), is amended to read as follows:
‘‘SEC. 3a. COTTON CLASSIFICATION SERVICES.
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Agriculture (re-
ferred to in this section as the ‘Secretary’) shall—
‘‘(1) make cotton classification services available
to producers of cotton; and
‘‘(2) provide for the collection of classification
fees from participating producers or agents that vol-
untarily agree to collect and remit the fees on behalf
of producers.
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‘‘(b) USE OF FEES.—Classification fees collected under
subsection (a)(2) and the proceeds from the sales of samples
submitted under this section shall, to the maximum extent
practicable, be used to pay the cost of the services provided
under this section, including administrative and super-
visory costs.
‘‘(c) CONSULTATION.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In establishing the amount
of fees under this section, the Secretary shall consult
with representatives of the United States cotton in-
dustry.
‘‘(2) EXEMPTION.—The Federal Advisory Com-
mittee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall not apply to con-
sultations with representatives of the United States
cotton industry under this section.
‘‘(d) CREDITING OF FEES.—Any fees collected under
this section and under section 3d, late payment penalties,
the proceeds from the sales of samples, and interest earned
from the investment of such funds shall—
‘‘(1) be credited to the current appropriation ac-
count that incurs the cost of services provided under
this section and section 3d; and
‘‘(2) remain available without fiscal year limita-
tion to pay the expenses of the Secretary in providing
those services.
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‘‘(e) INVESTMENT OF FUNDS.—Funds described in sub-
section (d) may be invested—
‘‘(1) by the Secretary in insured or fully
collateralized, interest-bearing accounts; or
‘‘(2) at the discretion of the Secretary, by the
Secretary of the Treasury in United States Govern-
ment debt instruments.
‘‘(f) LEASE
AGREEMENTS.—Notwithstanding any
other provision of law, the Secretary may enter into long-
term lease agreements that exceed 5 years or may take title
to property (including through purchase agreements) for the
purpose of obtaining offices to be used for the classification
of cotton in accordance with this Act, if the Secretary deter-
mines that action would best effectuate the purposes of this
Act.
‘‘(g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—To the
extent that financing is not available from fees and the pro-
ceeds from the sales of samples, there are authorized to be
appropriated such sums as are necessary to carry out this
section.’’.
SEC. 1713. DESIGNATION OF STATES FOR COTTON RE-
SEARCH AND PROMOTION.
Section 17(f) of the Cotton Research and Promotion
Act (7 U.S.C. 2116(f)) is amended—
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(1) by striking ‘‘(f) The term’’ and inserting the
following:
‘‘(f) COTTON-PRODUCING STATE.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The term’’;
(2) by striking ‘‘more, and the term’’ and all
that follows through the end of the subsection and in-
serting the following: ‘‘more.
‘‘(2) INCLUSIONS.—The term ‘cotton-producing
State’ includes—
‘‘(A) any combination of States described in
paragraph (1); and
‘‘(B) effective beginning with the 2008 crop
of cotton, the States of Kansas, Virginia, and
Florida.’’.
SEC. 1714. GOVERNMENT PUBLICATION OF COTTON PRICE
FORECASTS.
Section 15 of the Agricultural Marketing Act (12
U.S.C. 1141j) is amended—
(1) by striking subsection (d); and
(2) by redesignating subsections (e) through (g)
as subsections (d) through (f), respectively.
SEC. 1715. STATE, COUNTY, AND AREA COMMITTEES.
Section 8(b)(5)(B)(ii) of the Soil Conservation and
Domestic Allotment Act (16 U.S.C. 590h(b)(5)(B)(ii)) is
amended—
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(1) by redesignating subclauses (I) and (II) as
items (aa) and (bb), respectively, and indenting ap-
propriately;
(2) in the matter preceding item (aa) (as redes-
ignated by paragraph (1)), by striking ‘‘A committee
established’’ and inserting the following:
‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—Except as pro-
vided in subclause (II), a committee es-
tablished’’; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(II) COMBINATION OR CONSOLI-
DATION OF AREAS.—A committee es-
tablished by combining or consoli-
dating 2 or more county or area com-
mittees shall consist of not fewer than
3 nor more than 11 members that—
‘‘(aa) are fairly representa-
tive of the agricultural producers
within the area covered by the
county, area, or local committee;
and
‘‘(bb) are elected by the agri-
cultural producers that partici-
pate or cooperate in programs ad-
ministered within the area under
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the jurisdiction of the county,
area, or local committee.
‘‘(III) REPRESENTATION
OF
SO-
CIALLY DISADVANTAGED FARMERS AND
RANCHERS.—The Secretary shall en-
sure, to the extent practicable, that rep-
resentation of socially disadvantaged
farmers and ranchers is maintained on
combined or consolidated committees.
‘‘(IV) ELIGIBILITY FOR MEMBER-
SHIP.—Notwithstanding 
any 
other
producer eligibility requirements for
service on county or area committees,
if a county or area is consolidated or
combined, a producer shall be eligible
to serve only as a member of the coun-
ty or area committee that the producer
elects to administer the farm records of
the producer.’’.
SEC. 1716. PROHIBITION ON CHARGING CERTAIN FEES.
Public Law 108–470 (7 U.S.C. 7416a) is amended—
(1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘may’’ and in-
serting ‘‘shall’’; and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
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‘‘(c) PROHIBITION ON CHARGING CERTAIN FEES.—
The Secretary may not charge any fees or related costs for
the collection of commodity assessments pursuant to this
Act.’’.
SEC. 1717. SIGNATURE AUTHORITY.
In carrying out this title and title II and amendments
made by those titles, if the Secretary approves a document
containing signatures of program applicants, the Secretary
shall not subsequently determine the document is inad-
equate or invalid because of the lack of authority of any
applicant signing the document on behalf of the applicant
or any other individual, entity, general partnership, or
joint venture, or the documents relied upon were determined
inadequate or invalid, unless the applicant knowingly and
willfully falsified the evidence of signature authority or a
signature.
SEC. 1718. MODERNIZATION OF FARM SERVICE AGENCY.
The Secretary shall modernize the Farm Service Agen-
cy information technology and communication systems to
ensure timely and efficient program delivery at national,
State, and County offices.
SEC. 1719. GEOSPATIAL SYSTEMS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall ensure that all
agencies of the Department of Agriculture consolidate the
geospatial systems of the agencies into a single enterprise
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system that ensures that geospatial data is shareable, port-
able, and standardized.
(b) REQUIREMENTS.—In carrying out subsection (a),
the Secretary shall—
(1) identify common datasets;
(2) give responsibility for managing each identi-
fied dataset to the agency best suited for collecting
and maintaining that data, as determined by the Sec-
retary; and
(3) make every effort to minimize the duplica-
tion of efforts.
(c) AVAILABILITY OF DATA.—The Secretary shall en-
sure, to the maximum extent practicable, that data is read-
ily available to all agencies beginning not later than 2 years
after the date of enactment of this Act.
SEC. 1720. LEASING OFFICE SPACE.
The Secretary may use the funds, facilities, and au-
thorities of the Commodity Credit Corporation to lease
space for use by agencies of the Department of Agriculture
in cases in which office space would be jointly occupied by
the agencies.
SEC. 1721. REPEALS.
(a) COMMISSION ON APPLICATION OF PAYMENT LIMI-
TATIONS.—Section 1605 of the Farm Security and Rural
Investment Act of 2002 (7 U.S.C. 7993) is repealed.
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(b) RENEWED AVAILABILITY OF MARKET LOSS AS-
SISTANCE AND CERTAIN EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE TO PER-
SONS THAT FAILED TO RECEIVE ASSISTANCE UNDER EAR-
LIER AUTHORITIES.—Section 1617 of the Farm Security
and Rural Investment Act of 2002 (7 U.S.C. 8000) is re-
pealed.
Subtitle F—Specialty Crop
Programs
SEC. 1801. DEFINITIONS.
In this subtitle:
(1) SPECIALTY
CROP.—The term ‘‘specialty
crop’’ has the meaning given the term in section 3 of
the Specialty Crops Competitiveness Act of 2004 (7
U.S.C. 1621 note; Public Law 108–465).
(2) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means each of the
several States of the United States.
(3) STATE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.—The
term ‘‘State department of agriculture’’ means the
agency, commission, or department of a State govern-
ment responsible for protecting and promoting agri-
culture in the State.
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PART I—MARKETING, INFORMATION, AND
EDUCATION
SEC. 1811. FRUIT AND VEGETABLE MARKET NEWS ALLOCA-
TION.
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, acting through the
Administrator of the Agricultural Marketing Service, shall
carry out market news activities to provide timely price
information of United States fruits and vegetables in the
United States.
(b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is
authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section
$9,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2008 through 2012, to
remain available until expended.
SEC. 1812. FARMERS’ MARKET PROMOTION PROGRAM.
Section 6 of the Farmer-to-Consumer Direct Marketing
Act of 1976 (7 U.S.C. 3005) is amended—
(1) in subsection (a), by inserting ‘‘and to pro-
mote direct producer-to-consumer marketing’’ before
the period at the end;
(2) in subsection (b)(1)(B), by striking ‘‘infra-
structure’’ and inserting ‘‘marketing opportunities’’;
(3) in subsection (c)(1), by inserting ‘‘or a pro-
ducer network or association’’ after ‘‘cooperative’’;
and
(4) by striking subsection (e) and inserting the
following: