Section 1 Short title
This Act may be cited as the “Feeding America through Farm Flexibility Act of 2017”.
Feeding America through Farm Flexibility Act of 2017
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.
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.”