§1524. Education and risk management assistance

(a) Education assistance

(1) In general

Subject to the amounts made available under paragraph (4)-

(A) the Corporation shall carry out the program established under paragraph (2); and

(B) the Secretary, acting through the Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service, shall carry out the program established under paragraph (3).

(2) Education and information

The Corporation shall establish a program under which crop insurance education and information is provided to producers in States in which (as determined by the Secretary)-

(A) there is traditionally, and continues to be, a low level of Federal crop insurance participation and availability; and

(B) producers are underserved by the Federal crop insurance program.

(3) Partnerships for risk management education

(A) Authority

The Secretary, acting through the Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service, shall establish a program under which competitive grants are made to qualified public and private entities (including land grant colleges, cooperative extension services, and colleges or universities), as determined by the Secretary, for the purpose of educating agricultural producers about the full range of risk management activities, including futures, options, agricultural trade options, crop insurance, cash forward contracting, debt reduction, production diversification, farm resources risk reduction, and other risk management strategies.

(B) Basis for grants

A grant under this paragraph shall be awarded on the basis of merit and shall be subject to peer or merit review.

(C) Obligation period

Funds for a grant under this paragraph shall be available to the Secretary for obligation for a 2-year period.

(D) Administrative costs

The Secretary may use not more than 4 percent of the funds made available for grants under this paragraph for administrative costs incurred by the Secretary in carrying out this paragraph.

(4) Funding

From the insurance fund established under section 1516(c) of this title, there is transferred-

(A) for the education and information program established under paragraph (2), $5,000,000 for fiscal year 2001 and each subsequent fiscal year; and

(B) for the partnerships for risk management education program established under paragraph (3), $5,000,000 for fiscal year 2001 and each subsequent fiscal year.

(b) Agricultural management assistance

(1) Authority

The Secretary shall provide financial assistance to producers in the States of Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, Maine, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Utah, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wyoming.

(2) Uses

A producer may use financial assistance provided under this subsection to-

(A) construct or improve-

(i) watershed management structures; or

(ii) irrigation structures;

(B) plant trees to form windbreaks or to improve water quality;

(C) mitigate financial risk through production or marketing diversification or resource conservation practices, including-

(i) soil erosion control;

(ii) integrated pest management;

(iii) organic farming; or

(iv) to develop and implement a plan to create marketing opportunities for the producer, including through value-added processing;

(D) enter into futures, hedging, or options contracts in a manner designed to help reduce production, price, or revenue risk;

(E) enter into agricultural trade options as a hedging transaction to reduce production, price, or revenue risk; or

(F) conduct any other activity relating to an activity described in subparagraphs (A) through (E), as determined by the Secretary.

(3) Payment limitation

The total amount of payments made to a person (as defined in section 1308(5) ¹ of this title) under this subsection for any year may not exceed $50,000.

(4) Commodity Credit Corporation

(A) In general

The Secretary shall carry out this subsection through the Commodity Credit Corporation.

(B) Funding

(i) In general

Except as provided in clauses (ii) and (iii), the Commodity Credit Corporation shall make available to carry out this subsection not less than $10,000,000 for each fiscal year.

(ii) Exception

For each of fiscal years 2003 through 2007, the Commodity Credit Corporation shall make available to carry out this subsection $20,000,000.

(iii) Certain uses

Of the amounts made available to carry out this subsection for each of fiscal years 2004 through 2007 the Commodity Credit Corporation shall use not less than-

(I) $14,000,000 to carry out subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C) of paragraph (2) through the Natural Resources Conservation Service;

(II) $1,000,000 to provide organic certification cost share assistance through the Agricultural Marketing Service; and

(III) $5,000,000 to conduct activities to carry out subparagraph (F) of paragraph (2) through the Risk Management Agency.

(Feb. 16, 1938, ch. 30, title V, §524, as added Pub. L. 106–224, title I, §133, June 20, 2000, 114 Stat. 387 ; amended Pub. L. 107–171, title II, §2501, May 13, 2002, 116 Stat. 263 ; Pub. L. 108–199, div. A, title VII, §769, Jan. 23, 2004, 118 Stat. 40 .)

References in Text

Section 1308(5) of this title, referred to in subsec. (b)(3), was redesignated section 1308(e) by Pub. L. 107–171, title I, §1603(b)(1), May 13, 2002, 116 Stat. 214 .

Amendments

2004-Subsec. (b)(4)(B)(i). Pub. L. 108–199, §769(1), substituted "clauses (ii) and (iii)" for "clause (ii)".

Subsec. (b)(4)(B)(iii). Pub. L. 108–199, §769(2), added cl. (iii).

2002-Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 107–171 added subsec. (b) and struck out heading and text of former subsec. (b). Text read as follows:

"(1) Authority.-The Secretary shall provide cost share assistance to producers, in a manner determined by the Secretary, in not less than 10, nor more than 15, States in which participation in the Federal crop insurance program is historically low, as determined by the Secretary.

"(2) Uses.-A producer may use cost share assistance provided under this subsection to-

"(A) construct or improve-

"(i) watershed management structures; or

"(ii) irrigation structures;

"(B) plant trees to form windbreaks or to improve water quality;

"(C) mitigate financial risk through production diversification or resource conservation practices, including-

"(i) soil erosion control;

"(ii) integrated pest management; or

"(iii) transition to organic farming;

"(D) enter into futures, hedging, or options contracts in a manner designed to help reduce production, price, or revenue risk;

"(E) enter into agricultural trade options as a hedging transaction to reduce production, price, or revenue risk; or

"(F) conduct any other activity related to the activities described in subparagraphs (A) through (E), as determined by the Secretary.

"(2) Payment limitation.-The total amount of payments made to a person (as defined in section 1308(5) of this title) under this subsection for any year may not exceed $50,000.

"(3) Commodity credit corporation.-

"(A) In general.-The Secretary shall carry out this subsection through the Commodity Credit Corporation.

"(B) Funding.-The Commodity Credit Corporation shall make available to carry out this subsection $10,000,000 for fiscal year 2001 and each subsequent fiscal year."

Effective Date

Section effective Oct. 1, 2000, see section 171(b)(1)(A) of Pub. L. 106–224, set out as an Effective Date of 2000 Amendment note under section 1501 of this title.

¹ See References in Text note below.