EMERGENCY FORAGE PROGRAM.

SEC. 103. EMERGENCY FORAGE PROGRAM. (a) In General.—The Secretary of Agriculture shall implement an emergency forage program for established pasture damaged by the drought or related condition in 1988, under which the Secretary shall enter into cost-share agreements with owners or operators of such damaged land to provide for reseeding of forage crops on such land to facilitate late fall 1988 and early spring 1989 grazing and haying. Assistance may be provided to such owners and operators only when— (1) the forage crop will not regenerate naturally; (2) reseeding is the most cost-effective method to reestablish the forage crop; and (3) reseeding is not undertaken simply to improve the forage crop damaged by the drought (b) Cost-Share.—The Secretary shall share half the costs incurred under each agreement entered into under subsection (a), including the costs of seed, fertilizer, and other inputs on reseeded pasture. (c) Limitations.—(1) The total amount of payments an owner or operator of pasture land shall be entitled to receive under this section shall be $3,500. (2) The Secretary may cost-share for reseeding under this section only if the reseeding is to nonannual crops planted for pasture purposes. (d) Funding.—(1) The Secretary shall use the funds, facilities, and authorities of the Commodity Credit Corporation to carry out this section. (2) Not more than $50,000,000 of the funds of the Commodity Credit Corporation may be expended under paragraph (1). (3) To ensure the equitable award of hinds under agreements under this section, as limited under paragraph (2), the Secretary may prorate, and adopt procedures to facilitate proration of, funds made available under this section.