NONINSURED CROP DISASTER ASSISTANCE.

SEC. 111. NONINSURED CROP DISASTER ASSISTANCE. Section 519 (7 U.S.C. 1519) is amended to read as follows: “SEC. 519. NONINSURED CROP DISASTER ASSISTANCE PROGRAM. “(a) Establishment of Program.— “(1) Establishment.— In the case of an eligible crop described in paragraph (2), the Corporation shall establish a noninsured crop disaster assistance program to provide coverage equivalent to the catastrophic risk protection otherwise available under section 508(b). “(2) Eligible crops.— “(A) In general.— As used in this section, the term ‘eligible crop’ means each commercial crop or other agricultural commodity (except livestock)— “(i) for which catastrophic risk protection under section 508(b) is not available; and “(ii) that is produced for food or fiber. “(B) Crops specifically included.— The term ‘eligible crop’ shall include floricultural, ornamental nursery, and Christmas tree crops, turfgrass sod, and industrial crops. 108 STAT. 3200 “(3) Cause of loss.— To qualify for assistance under this section, the losses of the noninsured commodity shall be due to drought, flood, or other natural disaster, as determined by the Secretary. “(b) Application for Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance.— “(1) Timely application.— To be eligible for assistance under this section, a producer shall submit an application for noninsured crop disaster assistance at a local office of the Department The application shall be in such form, contain such information, and be submitted at such time as the Corporation may require. “(2) Records.— A producer shall annually provide records, as required by the Corporation, of previous crop acreage, acreage yields, and production, or the producer shall accept a yield under subsection (e)(3) determined by the Corporation. “(3) Acreage reports.— A producer shall provide reports on acreage planted or prevented from being planted, as required by the Corporation, by the designated acreage reporting date for the crop and location as established by the Corporation. “(c) Loss Requirements.— “(1) Required area loss.— A producer of an eligible crop shall not receive noninsured crop disaster assistance unless the average yield for that crop, or an equivalent measure in the event yield data are not available, in an area falls below 65 percent of the expected area yield, as established by the Corporation. “(2) Prevented planting.— Subject to paragraph (1), the Corporation shall make a prevented planting noninsured crop disaster assistance payment if the producer is prevented from planting more than 35 percent of the acreage intended for the eligible crop because of drought, flood, or other natural disaster, as determined by the Secretary. “(3) Reduced yields.— Subject to paragraph (1), the Corporation shall make a reduced yield noninsured crop disaster assistance payment to a producer if the total quantity of the eligible crop that the producer is able to harvest on any farm is, because of drought, flood, or other natural disaster as determined by the Secretary, less than 50 percent of the expected individual yield for the crop, as determined by the Corporation, factored for the interest of the producer for the crop. “(d) Payment.— The Corporation shall make available to a producer eligible for noninsured assistance under this section a payment computed by multiplying— “(1) the quantify that is less than 50 percent of the established yield for the crop; by “(2) (A) in the case of each of the 1995 through 1998 crop years, 60 percent of the average market price for the crop (or any comparable coverage determined by the Corporation); or “(B) in the case of each of the 1999 and subsequent crop years, 55 percent of the average market price for the crop (or any comparable coverage determined by the Corporation); by “(3) a payment rate for the type of crop (as determined by the Corporation) that— 108 STAT. 3201 “(A) in the case of a crop that is produced with a significant and variable harvesting expense, reflects the decreasing cost incurred in the production cycle for the crop that is— “(i) harvested; “(ii) planted but not harvested; and “(iii) prevented from being planted because of drought, flood, or other natural disaster (as determined by the Secretary); and “(B) in the case of a crop that is not produced with a significant and variable harvesting expense, is determined by the Corporation. “(e) Yield Determinations.— “(1) Establishment.— The Corporation shall establish farm yields for purposes of providing noninsured crop disaster assistance under this section. “(2) Actual production history.— The Corporation shall determine yield coverage using the actual production history of the producer over a period of not less than the 4 previous consecutive crop years and not more than 10 consecutive crop years. Subject to paragraph (3), the yield for the year in which noninsured crop disaster assistance is sought snail be equal to the average of the actual production history of the producer during the period considered. “(3) Assignment of yield.— If a producer does not submit adequate documentation of production history to determine a crop yield under paragraph (2), the Corporation shall assign to the producer a yield equal to not less than 65 percent of the transitional yield of the producer (adjusted to reflect actual production reflected in the records acceptable to the Corporation for continuous years), as specified in regulations issued by the Corporation based on production history requirements. “(4) Prohibition on assigned yields in certain counties.— “(A) In general.— “(i) Documentation.— If sufficient data are available to demonstrate that the acreage of a crop in a county for the crop year has increased by more than 100 percent over any year in the preceding 7 crop years or, if data are not available, if the acreage of the crop in the county has increased significantly from the previous crop years, a producer must provide such detailed documentation of production costs, acres planted, and yield for the crop year for which benefits are being claimed as is required by the Corporation. If the Corporation determines that the documentation provided is not sufficient, the Corporation may require documenting proof that the crop, had the crop been harvested, could have been marketed at a reasonable price. “(ii) Prohibition.— Except as provided in subparagraph (B), a producer who produces a crop on a farm located in a county described in clause (i) may not obtain an assigned yield. “(B) Exception.— A crop or a producer shall not be subject to this subsection if— 108 STAT. 3202 “(i) the planted acreage of the producer for the crop has been inspected by a third party acceptable to the Secretary; or “(ii) (I) the County Executive Director and the State Executive Director recommend an exemption from the requirement to the Deputy Administrator for State and County Operations of the Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service; and “(II) the Deputy Administrator approves the recommendation. “(5) Limitation on receipt of subsequent assigned yield.— A producer who receives an assigned yield for the current year of a natural disaster because required production records were not submitted to the local office of the Department shall not be eligible for an assigned yield for the year of the next natural disaster unless the required production records of the previous 1 or more years (as applicable) are provided to the local office. “(6) Yield variations due to different farming practices.— The Corporation shall ensure that noninsured crop disaster assistance accurately reflects significant yield variations due to different farming practices, such as between irrigated and nonirrigated acreage. “(f) Contract Payments.— A producer who has received a guaranteed payment for production, as opposed to delivery, of a crop pursuant to a contract shall have the production of the producer adjusted upward by the amount of the production equal to the amount of the contract payment received. “(g) Payment of Losses.— Payments for noninsured crop disaster assistance losses under this section shall be made from the insurance fund established under section 516. The losses shall not be included in calculating the premiums charged to producers for insurance under section 508. “(h) Exclusions.— Noninsured crop disaster assistance under this section shall not cover losses due to— “(1) the neglect or malfeasance of the producer, “(2) the failure of the producer to reseed to the same crop in those areas and under such circumstances where it is customary to reseed; or “(3) the failure of the producer to follow good farming practices, as determined by the Corporation.”.