HR7464-119

What This Bill Does

The bill amends Federal Crop Insurance Act section 522(c) so the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation must carry out research and development, or contract with qualified persons, on a national index-based crop insurance policy for frost or cold weather events. The policy must evaluate index-based risk tools for low-frequency catastrophic events and provide protection for production loss, revenue loss, or both. A report to the House and Senate agriculture committees is due within one year.

Who Benefits and How

Specialty crop farmers growing tomatoes, peppers, sugarcane, strawberries, melons, citrus, peaches, blueberries, and other crops benefit because the bill pushes USDA toward insurance protection for frost and cold-weather losses that may not fit current products. Crop insurance researchers and qualified contractors benefit from potential R&D contracts. The Risk Management Agency and congressional agriculture committees benefit from a structured evaluation of whether index-based tools can cover catastrophic cold events nationally.

Who Bears the Burden and How

The Federal Crop Insurance Corporation must conduct or procure the research, evaluate index tools, produce a policy design covering production or revenue losses, and report results and recommendations within one year. Qualified contractors must develop actuarially and operationally usable approaches if selected. Crop insurance administrators may later need to implement a new national product if the research produces a viable policy.

Key Provisions

• Requires Federal Crop Insurance Corporation research on national frost or cold weather insurance.
• Authorizes contracts with qualified persons to develop an index-based policy.
• Directs the research to evaluate index tools for low-frequency catastrophic weather events.
• Requires the resulting policy to protect against production loss, revenue loss, or both.
• Requires a report to House and Senate agriculture committees within one year.