Title: Feeding America through Farm Flexibility Act of 2017'
Policy area: Agriculture and Food

Summary:
Feeding America through Farm Flexibility Act of 2017
This bill amends the Agricultural Act of 2014 to increase the number of acres on which agricultural producers are authorized to grow fruits and vegetables without a resulting reduction in the payment acres used to calculate price loss coverage and agriculture risk coverage payments.
The increases are permitted if the crops on the additional acres are grown for sale or donation in a food desert, which is a census tract that: (1) has a poverty rate of at least 20%, and (2) provides difficult access to a retail outlet that provides a wide variety of fruits and vegetables.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3433 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>






115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3433

 To amend the Agricultural Act of 2014 to increase the number of base 
 acres upon which agricultural producers are authorized to grow fruits 
and vegetables without a resulting reduction in payment acres on their 
   farm when the resulting produce is used to help alleviate a food 
                    desert, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 26, 2017

    Ms. Kelly of Illinois (for herself and Mr. Bost) introduced the 
   following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend the Agricultural Act of 2014 to increase the number of base 
 acres upon which agricultural producers are authorized to grow fruits 
and vegetables without a resulting reduction in payment acres on their 
   farm when the resulting produce is used to help alleviate a food 
                    desert, and for other purposes.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Feeding America through Farm 
Flexibility Act of 2017''.

SEC. 2. PRODUCER DISCRETION TO PLANT ADDITIONAL FRUITS AND VEGETABLES 
              ON BASE ACRES WITHOUT A RESULTING REDUCTION IN PAYMENT 
              ACRES.

    Section 1114(e) of the Agricultural Act of 2014 (7 U.S.C. 9014(e)) 
is amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
            ``(5) Producer discretion to plant additional fruits and 
        vegetables to alleviate food deserts.--
                    ``(A) Additional planting authority; purpose.--The 
                percentages specified in paragraphs (2) and (3) are 
                increased by an additional five percent of base acres, 
                to 20 percent and 40 percent respectively, if the crops 
                referred to in paragraph (1) grown on the additional 
                base acres are grown solely for sale or donation, 
                directly or indirectly by the producer and with or 
                without processing, in a food desert.
                    ``(B) Food desert defined.--In this paragraph, the 
                term `food desert' means a census tract that, as 
                determined by the Secretary--
                            ``(i) has a poverty rate of 20 percent or 
                        greater; and
                            ``(ii) provides difficult access to a 
                        retail outlet that provides a wide variety of 
                        fruits and vegetables.''.
                                 <all>