Save Our Small Farms Act of 2025
The Save Our Small Farms Act of 2025 would revamp certain federal crop disaster programs to help small, beginning, limited-resource, socially disadvantaged, and veteran farmers transition from the Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP) to the Whole Farm Revenue Insurance Plan (WFRP). It creates a streamlined pathway and financial incentives to move producers onto the WFRP, expands program eligibility to diverse and small-scale farming systems (including urban and direct-to-consumer models), and increases flexibility in loss reporting and appraisal. The bill also strengthens outreach to underserved producer groups and adds rules to ensure proper administration and data collection as these changes are implemented. Key features include: an on-ramp from NAP to WFRP with tiered premium discounts (25% in year 1, 50% in year 2, and 50% in year 3 or later under certain conditions); a streamlined application and reporting process for nontraditional production systems; expanded loss reporting rules (including immediate evidence of loss for hand-harvested crops) and remote appraisal options; a higher portion of certain losses covered previously (changing a 65% reference to 100% in a specified provision); a defined revenue-history and eligibility framework (including a $600,000 limit for certain categories); and a government-wide outreach and collaboration requirement to advertise NAP and the streamlined option.
Key Points
- 1On-ramp to Whole Farm Revenue Insurance Plan (WFRP)
- 2- Establishes a streamlined, voluntary transition path from the Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP) to WFRP for producers with diverse or small-scale production systems, including urban, direct-to-consumer, and other limited operations.
- 3- Includes a premium-discount schedule to encourage transition: 25% discount in the first crop year if the producer commits to transition within up to 3 years; 50% discount in the following year if a transition is promised within 2 years; and 50% discount in the year after that if the producer purchases WFRP within 1 year after the certification, with revenue history provided.
- 4Financial incentives tied to transition
- 5- The Secretary can accept IRS Schedule F (or successor) to establish revenue history for discount eligibility.
- 6- Revenue history is shared with the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation (FCIC) as part of the transition process.
- 7Streamlined application and reporting process
- 8- Creates a streamlined process for records and acreage reports for diverse, small-scale, urban, and direct-to-consumer production systems, including reduced acreage reporting and the option to submit 2 reports per year to accommodate late reporting.
- 9- The streamlined option is designed to be accessible to producers who may have nontraditional farm structures or sales models.
- 10Enhanced loss reporting and appraisal
- 11- Adds the ability for producers to report losses for hand-harvested or rapidly deteriorating crops at any time after a specified window.
- 12- Allows remote or alternative appraisal methods (time-stamped photos, drone footage, and trained agency staff) when traditional loss adjuster appraisal is not available within 72 hours.
- 13Expanded eligibility and discounts for underserved groups
- 14- Increases eligibility and discount opportunities for limited-resource, beginning, socially disadvantaged, and veteran farmers, including a broader set of participants in the streamlined option.
- 15- Sets a cap (noted as $600,000 in certain contexts) for eligibility considerations or program interactions for these groups.
- 16Coverage and program scope adjustments
- 17- Raises or changes certain premium coverage parameters (changing a provision from 65% to 100% in a specified subsection).
- 18- Adds a focus on pilot projects and data collection to support policy development for insurance offerings under the Federal Crop Insurance Act.
- 19- Adds a delivery requirement mandating outreach and collaboration with extension services, state agriculture departments, and other providers to promote NAP and the streamlined transition option.
- 20Administration and rulemaking
- 21- Requires regulatory guidance within 90 days of enactment to ensure premium discounts are limited to eligible producers and to specify necessary exceptions.
- 22Outreach and information dissemination
- 23- Directs the Secretary to collaborate with outreach and technical assistance providers to advertise NAP and the streamlined transition option to targeted producer groups.