S 984119th CongressIn Committee

Fair Access to Agriculture Disaster Programs Act

Introduced: Mar 12, 2025

Standard Summary

Comprehensive overview in 1-2 paragraphs

Fair Access to Agriculture Disaster Programs Act would amend the Food Security Act of 1985 to create an income-based exception to current payment limitations. Under the bill, if at least 75% of a person’s or entity’s average adjusted gross income comes from farming- and agriculture-related activities (including agritourism, direct-to-consumer marketing, and related activities as determined by the Secretary), then for certain disaster-related payments or benefits, the usual payment caps would not apply in a given crop year, fiscal year, or program year. The targeted payments are disaster-related programs established in two older statutes: (1) Subtitle E of Title I of the Agricultural Act of 2014 (7 U.S.C. 9081) and (2) Section 196 of the Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act of 1996 (7 U.S.C. 7333). The bill’s short title is the “Fair Access to Agriculture Disaster Programs Act.” It was introduced in the Senate (S. 984) and referred to the Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee.

Key Points

1Creates an exception to payment limitations for disaster-related payments when at least 75% of a person’s or entity’s average AGI comes from agriculture, including listed activities like agritourism, direct-to-consumer marketing, and sale of agricultural equipment, as determined by the Secretary.
2Applies to specific disaster-related payments/benefits: (i) those under Subtitle E of Title I of the Agricultural Act of 2014 (7 U.S.C. 9081) and (ii) those under Section 196 of the Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act of 1996 (7 U.S.C. 7333).
3The 75% AGI-from-agriculture test determines eligibility for the exception; those who meet it would not be subject to the usual payment limit for the cited programs in the relevant year.
4The Secretary has discretion to determine which activities count as agriculture-related for purposes of the exception.
5The bill is a narrow adjustment to program access, not a new funding authorization or new payment amounts.

Impact Areas

Primary group/area affected: Farmers and agricultural businesses (including those with diversified income streams such as agritourism or direct-to-consumer sales) that derive most of their income from agriculture and would otherwise be limited by payment caps for disaster-related programs.Secondary group/area affected: USDA program administrators and disaster aid program implementers who would apply the new eligibility test and administer the exemption; potentially state and local agricultural economies relying on disaster assistance.Additional impacts: Potential budgetary implications due to expanded access to disaster payments; possible changes in compliance, reporting, and auditing to verify the 75% AGI-from-agriculture threshold and the Secretary’s determinations of eligible activities. The bill’s discretion for determining what counts as agriculture-related activities could influence which entities qualify.

Generated by gpt-5-nano on Oct 31, 2025