Section10302: Base Acres
✅ Section 10302 – “New Rules for Farm Base Acres”
👩🌾 What’s a “base acre”?
It’s a number the government uses to help farmers get money when crop prices are too low. It’s kind of like saying, “These are the acres we’ll count when deciding how much help you get.”
🧠 4th Grade Explanation:
Before, only some farmers had “base acres” for certain crops.
Now, the government is saying:
🥬 “We’ll give out up to 30 million more base acres to eligible farms.”
But only if:
The farm grew a lot of crops between 2019–2023, or
The crops couldn’t grow during that time because of a natural disaster (like a flood or drought).
📬 If your farm qualifies, you’ll get a letter.
You can say yes and get more base acres, or say no within 90 days.
📏 The government will check:
How much land you used for growing crops in the last 5 years.
Whether you already have base acres.
They won’t give you more base acres than the actual size of your farm.
📉 If too many farmers qualify (over 30 million acres), everyone will get a little less to make it fair.
🌽 And if your farm just changed owners, the government will look at what the old owner grew to decide if you still qualify.
Here's the original:
SEC. 10302. BASE ACRES.
Section 1112 of the Agricultural Act of 2014 (7 U.S.C. 9012) is
amended--
(1) in subsection (d)(3)(A), by striking ``2023'' and inserting
``2031''; and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
``(e) Additional Base Acres.--
``(1) In general.--As soon as practicable after the date of
enactment of this subsection, and notwithstanding subsection (a),
the Secretary shall provide notice to owners of eligible farms
pursuant to paragraph (3) and allocate to those eligible farms a
total of not more than an additional 30,000,000 base acres in the
manner provided in this subsection. An owner of a farm that is
eligible to receive an allocation of base acres may elect to not
receive that allocation by notifying the Secretary not later than
90 days after receipt of the notice provided by the Secretary under
this paragraph.
``(2) Content of notice.--The notice under paragraph (1) shall
include the following:
``(A) Information that the allocation is occurring.
``(B) Information regarding the eligibility of the farm for
an allocation of base acres under paragraph (3).
``(C) Information regarding how an owner may appeal a
determination of ineligibility for an allocation of base acres
under paragraph (3) through an appeals process established by
the Secretary.
``(3) Eligibility.--
``(A) In general.--Subject to subparagraph (D), effective
beginning with the 2026 crop year, a farm is eligible to
receive an allocation of base acres if, with respect to the
farm, the amount described in subparagraph (B) exceeds the
amount described in subparagraph (C).
``(B) 5-year average sum.--The amount described in this
subparagraph, with respect to a farm, is the sum of--
``(i) the 5-year average of--
``(I) the acreage planted on the farm to all
covered commodities for harvest, grazing, haying,
silage or other similar purposes for the 2019 through
2023 crop years; and
``(II) any acreage on the farm that the producers
were prevented from planting during the 2019 through
2023 crop years to covered commodities because of
drought, flood, or other natural disaster, or other
condition beyond the control of the producers, as
determined by the Secretary; plus
``(ii) the lesser of--
``(I) 15 percent of the total acres on the farm;
and
``(II) the 5-year average of--
``(aa) the acreage planted on the farm to
eligible noncovered commodities for harvest,
grazing, haying, silage, or other similar purposes
for the 2019 through 2023 crop years; and
``(bb) any acreage on the farm that the
producers were prevented from planting during the
2019 through 2023 crop years to eligible noncovered
commodities because of drought, flood, or other
natural disaster, or other condition beyond the
control of the producers, as determined by the
Secretary.
``(C) Total number of base acres for covered commodities.--
The amount described in this subparagraph, with respect to a
farm, is the total number of base acres for covered commodities
on the farm (excluding unassigned crop base), as in effect on
September 30, 2024.
``(D) Effect of no recent plantings of covered
commodities.--In the case of a farm for which the amount
determined under clause (i) of subparagraph (B) is equal to
zero, that farm shall be ineligible to receive an allocation of
base acres under this subsection.
``(E) Acreage planted on the farm to eligible noncovered
commodities defined.--In this paragraph, the term `acreage
planted on the farm to eligible noncovered commodities' means
acreage planted on a farm to commodities other than covered
commodities, trees, bushes, vines, grass, or pasture (including
cropland that was idle or fallow), as determined by the
Secretary.
``(4) Number of base acres.--Subject to paragraphs (3) and (8),
the number of base acres allocated to an eligible farm shall--
``(A) be equal to the difference obtained by subtracting
the amount determined under subparagraph (C) of paragraph (3)
from the amount determined under subparagraph (B) of that
paragraph; and
``(B) include unassigned crop base.
``(5) Allocation of acres.--
``(A) Allocation.--The Secretary shall allocate the number
of base acres under paragraph (4) among those covered
commodities planted on the farm at any time during the 2019
through 2023 crop years.
``(B) Allocation formula.--The allocation of additional
base acres for covered commodities shall be in proportion to
the ratio of--
``(i) the 5-year average of--
``(I) the acreage planted on the farm to each
covered commodity for harvest, grazing, haying, silage,
or other similar purposes for the 2019 through 2023
crop years; and
``(II) any acreage on the farm that the producers
were prevented from planting during the 2019 through
2023 crop years to that covered commodity because of
drought, flood, or other natural disaster, or other
condition beyond the control of the producers, as
determined by the Secretary; to
``(ii) the 5-year average determined under paragraph
(3)(B)(i).
``(C) Inclusion of all 5 years in average.--For the purpose
of determining a 5-year acreage average under subparagraph (B)
for a farm, the Secretary shall not exclude any crop year in
which a covered commodity was not planted.
``(D) Treatment of multiple planting or prevented
planting.--For the purpose of determining under subparagraph
(B) the acreage on a farm that producers planted or were
prevented from planting during the 2019 through 2023 crop years
to covered commodities, if the acreage that was planted or
prevented from being planted was devoted to another covered
commodity in the same crop year (other than a covered commodity
produced under an established practice of double cropping), the
owner may elect the covered commodity to be used for that crop
year in determining the 5-year average, but may not include
both the initial covered commodity and the subsequent covered
commodity.
``(E) Limitation.--The allocation of additional base acres
among covered commodities on a farm under this paragraph may
not result in a total number of base acres for the farm in
excess of the total number of acres on the farm.
``(6) Reduction by the secretary.--In carrying out this
subsection, if the total number of eligible acres allocated to base
acres across all farms in the United States under this subsection
would exceed 30,000,000 acres, the Secretary shall apply an across-
the-board, pro-rata reduction to the number of eligible acres to
ensure the number of allocated base acres under this subsection is
equal to 30,000,000 acres.
``(7) Payment yield.--Beginning with crop year 2026, for the
purpose of making price loss coverage payments under section 1116,
the Secretary shall establish payment yields to base acres
allocated under this subsection equal to--
``(A) the payment yield established on the farm for the
applicable covered commodity; and
``(B) if no such payment yield for the applicable covered
commodity exists, a payment yield--
``(i) equal to the average payment yield for the
covered commodity for the county in which the farm is
situated; or
``(ii) determined pursuant to section 1113(c).
``(8) Treatment of new owners.--In the case of a farm for which
the owner on the date of enactment of this subsection was not the
owner for the 2019 through 2023 crop years, the Secretary shall use
the planting history of the prior owner or owners of that farm for
purposes of determining--
``(A) eligibility under paragraph (3);
``(B) eligible acres under paragraph (4); and
``(C) the allocation of acres under paragraph (5).''.
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