Sponsors (11)
The bill channels substantial, tailored financial aid to specialty crop producers through a dedicated $5 billion fund to provide quick and sustained relief, at the cost of increased federal spending and potential inequities and administrative uncertainty in how payments are allocated.
Specialty crop producers (farmers and agricultural workers) will receive direct, tailored payments based on prior-year or multi-year average sales multiplied by a payment factor, providing quick financial relief and better matching aid to the higher value and input costs of specialty crops.
Farmers and the USDA get a large, dedicated $5.0 billion fund (available until expended) to provide sustained assistance to specialty crop producers without being constrained by immediate annual appropriation limits.
Taxpayers will bear the $5.0 billion federal cost to fund the program, increasing federal outlays and potentially adding to deficit pressures if not offset.
Small specialty crop producers and small farm businesses may be disadvantaged because payment limits and exemptions could concentrate larger payments to bigger operations—especially those with ≥75% of income from farming—reducing equity of aid distribution.
Producers and rural communities could face uncertainty and uneven access to aid because the Secretary has broad discretion to define adverse events and set payment factors, which may produce inconsistent administration across regions.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Creates a USDA specialty-crop emergency payment program and funds it with $5 billion for FY2027 to provide direct revenue‑based assistance after adverse events.
Official title: Amend the Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act of 1996 to establish a specialty crop emergency assistance framework, and for other purposes.
Introduced June 23, 2026 by Ben Ray Luján · Last progress June 23, 2026
Creates a new specialty crop emergency assistance program at USDA that pays direct emergency payments to specialty crop producers after adverse events, with payment formulas tied to prior-year (or multi-year average) sales and program-specific payment factors. It sets payment-limit rules, directs USDA to use existing eligibility/notification procedures where applicable, allows use of CCC authority to administer payments, and provides $5 billion in appropriations for FY2027 to carry out the new program.