1. Short title
This Act may be cited as the “Prairie Protection Act of 2013”.
Prairie Protection Act of 2013
A BILL
To amend the Federal Crop Insurance Act to provide for crop production on native sod.
2. Crop production on native sod
Federal crop insurance— Section 508(o) of the Federal Crop Insurance Act (7 U.S.C. 1508(o)) is amended—
in paragraph (1)(B), by inserting “, or the producer cannot substantiate that the ground has ever been tilled,” after “tilled”;
in paragraph (2)(A), by striking “for benefits under—” and all that follows through the period at the end and inserting “for—
“(i) a portion of crop insurance premium subsidies under this subtitle in accordance with paragraph (3);
“(ii) benefits under section 196 of the Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act of 1996 (7 U.S.C. 7333); and
“(iii) payments described in subsection (b) of section 1001 of the Food Security Act of 1985 (7 U.S.C. 1308).”
by striking paragraph (3) and inserting the following:
“(3) Administration
“(A) In general—During the first 4 crop years of planting on native sod acreage by a producer described in paragraph (2)—
“(i) paragraph (2) shall apply to 65 percent of the applicable transitional yield; and
“(ii) the crop insurance premium subsidy provided for the producer under this subtitle shall be 50 percentage points less than the premium subsidy that would otherwise apply.
“(B) Yield substitution—During the period native sod acreage is covered by this subsection, a producer may not substitute yields for the native sod acreage.”
Noninsured crop disaster assistance— Section 196(a)(4) of the Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act of 1996 (7 U.S.C. 7333(a)(4)) is amended—
in subparagraph (A)(ii), by inserting “, or the producer cannot substantiate that the ground has ever been tilled,” after “tilled”;
in subparagraph (B)(i), by striking “for benefits under—” and all that follows through the period at the end and inserting “for—
“(I) benefits under this section;
“(II) a portion of crop insurance premium subsidies under the Federal Crop Insurance Act (7 U.S.C. 1501 et seq.) in accordance with subparagraph (C); and
“(III) payments described in subsection (b) of section 1001 of the Food Security Act of 1985 (7 U.S.C. 1308).”
by striking subparagraph (C) and inserting the following:
“(C) Administration
“(i) In general—During the first 4 crop years of planting on native sod acreage by a producer described in subparagraph (B)—
“(I) subparagraph (B) shall apply to 65 percent of the applicable transitional yield; and
“(II) the crop insurance premium subsidy provided for the producer under the Federal Crop Insurance Act (7 U.S.C. 1501 et seq.) shall be 50 percentage points less than the premium subsidy that would otherwise apply.
“(ii) Yield substitution—During the period native sod acreage is covered by this paragraph, a producer may not substitute yields for the native sod acreage.”
Cropland report—
Baseline— Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Agriculture shall submit to the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate a report that describes the cropland acreage in each county and State, and the change in cropland acreage from the preceding year in each county and State, beginning with calendar year 2000 and including that information for the most recent year for which that information is available.
Annual updates— Not later than January 1, 2014, and each January 1 thereafter through January 1, 2018, the Secretary of Agriculture shall submit to the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate a report that describes—
the cropland acreage in each county and State as of the date of submission of the report;
the change in cropland acreage from the preceding year in each county and State; and
the number of acres of native sod that have been converted to cropland or to any other use in the preceding year in each county and State.