Crop Insurance and Risk Management: Provisions in the Enacted 1996 Farm Bill (CRS Report for Congress)
| Release Date |
May 28, 1996 |
| Report Number |
96-477 |
| Report Type |
Report |
| Authors |
Ralph M. Chite, Environment and Natural Resources Policy Division |
| Source Agency |
Congressional Research Service |
Summary:
Provisions in the Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act of 1996 ( P.L. 104-127 , the
1996
farm bill) make several changes to the federal crop insurance program administered by the U.S.
Department of Agriculture (USDA). Under the new farm law, a producer no longer is required to
acquire the minimum level of crop insurance coverage, as long as the producer waives, in writing, any
eligibility for future disaster payments. It also allows USDA to continue to offer the basic level of
insurance coverage in states or regions that have an insufficient number of approved private insurance
providers, but requires USDA to shift policies to private companies when private coverage is
adequate. The new law also creates a new Office of Risk Management with jurisdiction over the crop
insurance program, and makes seed crops and aquaculture eligible for payments under the noninsured
assistance program. Other provisions institute separate pilot programs for insect infestation, nursery
crop insurance coverage, futures and options trading, and revenue insurance. The permanently
authorized livestock assistance programs, which assist livestock producers when they lose a
significant portion of their on-farm feed to a natural disaster, are terminated.
