A bill to direct the Secretary of Agriculture to consider certain acreage not planted due to a lack of irrigation water to be eligible for prevented planting payments, and for other purposes.

Key Points

• This bill helps farmers who cannot plant their crops because there is not enough water for irrigation. It allows them to get federal payments even if they decide not to plant because they know the water will not be there.
• Farmers in dry areas who rely on snowmelt or reservoirs would benefit most. To qualify, they must show they have working irrigation equipment and have grown that same crop on the land at least once in the last four years.
• Currently, some rules make it hard for farmers to get help if the water shortage happens at the source, like a dry reservoir far away. This bill clarifies that a lack of water at the source counts as a disaster.
• The payments do not last forever. If a farmer cannot plant for many years in a row, the government will cut the payments by half after five years and stop them entirely after eleven years. This encourages farmers to find other uses for the land if the water never returns.

Impact Analysis

Govbase has not yet run an impact analysis on this legislation.