“To amend the Specialty Crops Competitiveness Act of 2004 to provide for seasonal and perishable programs, and for other purposes.”
No CRS summary available for this bill.
This section establishes a Seasonal and Perishable Crop Loss Program under the Specialty Crops Competitiveness Act of 2004, beginning with marketing year 2027. The program directs the Secretary of Agriculture to make annual payments to producers of seasonal and perishable crops (i.e., fresh or chilled specialty crops classified under specified HS2020 tariff codes such as 0701–0709 for vegetables and 0803–0810 for fruits, marketed raw within 8 weeks of harvest) in qualifying U.S. geographic regions if the effective price (national average market price during the seasonal marketing window, ending no later than 8 weeks after harvest) is below the reference price (national average from the prior three marketing seasons) due to imports. Payments equal the payment rate (reference price minus effective price) multiplied by the producer's prior three-year average production in the same window. Eligible producers must have an average adjusted gross income below $5 million over the prior three tax years or derive at least 75% of income from farming, ranching, or forestry.