I 
118TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 5057 
To require the Secretary of Agriculture to carry out a program to provide 
payments to producers experiencing certain crop losses as a result of 
a disaster. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 27, 2023 
Mr. THOMPSON of California (for himself and Mr. LAMALFA) introduced the 
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture 
A BILL 
To require the Secretary of Agriculture to carry out a pro-
gram to provide payments to producers experiencing cer-
tain crop losses as a result of a disaster. 
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 Emer-
gency Relief Act of 2023’’. 
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) AVERAGE
ADJUSTED
GROSS
FARM
IN-
COME.—The term ‘‘average adjusted gross farm in-
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come’’, with respect to a producer, means the por-
tion of the average adjusted gross income of the pro-
ducer that is derived from farming, ranching, or for-
estry operations. 
(2) AVERAGE ADJUSTED GROSS INCOME.—The 
term ‘‘average adjusted gross income’’, with respect 
to a producer, means the adjusted gross income (as 
defined in section 62 of the Internal Revenue Code 
of 1986) of the producer, as averaged over the 3 
taxable years preceding the most recently completed 
taxable year. 
(3) DISASTER.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘disaster’’ in-
cludes— 
(i) a drought; 
(ii) a wildfire; 
(iii) a hurricane; 
(iv) a flood; 
(v) a derecho; 
(vi) excessive heat; 
(vii) excessive moisture; 
(viii) a winter storm; and 
(ix) a freeze event (including a polar 
vortex). 
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(B) DETERMINATION OF DROUGHT.—For 
purposes of subparagraph (A)(i), a county shall 
be considered to have experienced a drought if 
any area within the county was rated by the 
U.S. Drought Monitor as experiencing— 
(i) a D2-level drought (commonly 
known as ‘‘severe drought’’) for 8 or more 
consecutive weeks; or 
(ii) a D3-level drought (commonly 
known as ‘‘extreme drought’’), or a higher 
level of drought intensity, during the appli-
cable calendar year. 
(4) FEDERAL
CROP
INSURANCE.—The term 
‘‘Federal Crop Insurance’’ means any crop insurance 
program under the Federal Crop Insurance Act (7 
U.S.C. 1501 et seq.). 
(5) NONINSURED CROP DISASTER ASSISTANCE 
PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘Noninsured Crop Disaster 
Assistance Program’’ means the program under sec-
tion 196 of the Federal Agriculture Improvement 
and Reform Act of 1996 (7 U.S.C. 7333). 
(6) PRODUCER.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘producer’’ 
means an individual or entity that is eligible to 
receive assistance under a disaster assistance 
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program administered by the Farm Service 
Agency. 
(B) EXCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘producer’’ 
does not include— 
(i) a joint venture; or 
(ii) a general partnership. 
(7) QUALIFIED LOSS.— 
(A) IN
GENERAL.—The term ‘‘qualified 
loss’’ means a loss in a crop, trees, bushes, or 
vines incurred by a producer as a consequence 
of a disaster. 
(B) INCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘qualified 
loss’’ includes— 
(i) a loss incurred by a producer as a 
result of being prevented from planting a 
crop due to a disaster; 
(ii) a loss in the quality of a crop, 
trees, bushes, or vines due to a disaster; 
and 
(iii) a loss in the quality of a crop (in-
cluding wine grapes), trees, bushes, or 
vines due to smoke exposure from a wild-
fire. 
(8) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 
the Secretary of Agriculture. 
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(2) 
REQUIREMENT
TO
PURCHASE
INSUR-
ANCE.—As a condition of receiving a payment under 
this section, a producer shall purchase, for each of 
the 2 succeeding crop years— 
(A) Federal Crop Insurance, if available; 
or 
(B) if Federal Crop Insurance is not avail-
able, coverage under the Noninsured Crop Dis-
aster Assistance Program. 
(d) AMOUNT OF PAYMENTS.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—Subject to subsection (e), 
the amount of a payment provided to a producer 
under subsection (c)(1) shall be determined in ac-
cordance with— 
(A) to the maximum extent practicable, a 
calculation based on data relating to the pro-
ducer for the applicable crop year that were 
previously submitted or known to the Secretary, 
including— 
(i) any indemnity of the producer 
under Federal Crop Insurance or payment 
received by the producer under the Non-
insured Crop Disaster Assistance Program; 
(ii) the level of coverage of the pro-
ducer under— 
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(I) Federal Crop Insurance; or 
(II) the Noninsured Crop Dis-
aster Assistance Program; and 
(iii) an appropriate percentage factor, 
to be established by the Secretary, subject 
to the condition that the factor shall be not 
more than 90 percent; or 
(B) for a producer that did not purchase 
coverage under Federal Crop Insurance or the 
Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program, 
a calculation based on the revenue of the pro-
ducer for the applicable crop year, as described 
in paragraph (2). 
(2) REVENUE-BASED CALCULATION.— 
(A) DEFINITIONS.—In this paragraph: 
(i) ALLOWABLE
GROSS
REVENUE.— 
The term ‘‘allowable gross revenue’’, with 
respect to a producer, means the reported 
revenue of the operations of the producer 
during a crop year, including from— 
(I) sales of eligible crops, as iden-
tified by the Secretary; or 
(II) sales resulting from value 
added in post-production activities. 
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(ii) BENCHMARK
YEAR.—The term 
‘‘benchmark year’’ means a crop year in 
which a producer did not experience a 
qualified loss. 
(iii) DISASTER YEAR.—The term ‘‘dis-
aster year’’ means a crop year in which a 
producer experiences a qualified loss. 
(B) FACTORS FOR CONSIDERATION.—Sub-
ject to subparagraph (C), the revenue-based cal-
culation referred to in paragraph (1)(B) shall 
take into account— 
(i) the allowable gross revenue of the 
applicable producer during a benchmark 
year; 
(ii) the allowable gross revenue of the 
applicable producer during the disaster 
year for which the payment is provided 
under this section; 
(iii) the percentage of the allowable 
gross revenue described in clause (ii) de-
rived from sales of specialty crops and 
high-value crops; and 
(iv) an appropriate percentage factor, 
to be established by the Secretary, subject 
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to the condition that the factor shall be not 
more than 70 percent. 
(C) VERTICAL
INTEGRATION
FOR
PRO-
DUCERS OF WINE GRAPES.—For a producer of 
wine grapes that uses not less than 75 percent 
of the grapes to produce wine at a facility 
owned by the producer, a payment provided 
under this section shall be calculated based on 
the market rate for wine grapes at the time of 
calculation, in lieu of the revenue of the pro-
ducer. 
(e) LIMITATIONS.—For each crop year— 
(1) a producer the average adjusted gross farm 
income of whom is less than 75 percent may receive 
payments under this section in an amount equal to 
not more than— 
(A) $125,000 for the specialty crops and 
high-value crops of the producer, as determined 
by the Secretary; and 
(B) $125,000 for the crops of the producer 
not described in subparagraph (A); 
(2) a producer the average adjusted gross farm 
income of whom is 75 percent or more may receive 
payments under this section in an amount equal to 
not more than— 
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(A) $900,000 for the specialty crops and 
high-value crops of the producer, as determined 
by the Secretary; and 
(B) $250,000 for the crops of the producer 
not described in subparagraph (A); and 
(3) the total amount of all payments provided 
to a producer under this section shall be not more 
than, as applicable— 
(A) an amount equal to 90 percent of the 
qualified losses of the producer during the crop 
year, including any assistance provided under— 
(i) Federal Crop Insurance; or 
(ii) the Noninsured Crop Disaster As-
sistance Program; or 
(B) an amount equal to 70 percent of the 
qualified losses of the producer during the crop 
year, if the producer did not— 
(i) obtain a policy or plan of insurance 
under Federal Crop Insurance for the 
crops, trees, bushes, or vines incurring the 
qualified losses; or 
(ii) file any required paperwork or pay 
any service fee under the Noninsured Crop 
Disaster Assistance Program by the appli-
cable State filing deadline for a noninsur-
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able commodity incurring the qualified 
losses. 
(f) TIMING.—The Secretary shall administer the pro-
gram under this section simultaneously for— 
(1) producers submitting applications using in-
demnity-based calculations, as described in sub-
section (d)(1)(A); and 
(2) producers submitting applications using rev-
enue-based calculations, as described in subsection 
(d)(1)(B). 
SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be appro-
priated to the Secretary such sums as are necessary to 
carry out this Act for each of fiscal years 2023 through 
2028. 
(b) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.—Of the amounts made 
available under subsection (a) for each fiscal year, the Sec-
retary may use not more than 1 percent to pay the admin-
istrative costs of the Secretary. 
Æ 
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