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Changes how livestock indemnity payments calculate the market value used to set payment amounts. The Secretary of Agriculture must now determine market value quarterly, coordinate with the Agricultural Marketing Service Administrator, and may use other appropriate resources to make that determination. This is a procedural update to the existing indemnity payment rules that clarifies the method and timing for establishing market value for livestock losses. It is focused on process and coordination rather than creating new programs or adding funding.
Redesignate existing subparagraphs (A) and (B) of Section 1501(b)(2) of the Agricultural Act of 2014 as clauses (i) and (ii), respectively, and re-indent them appropriately.
In the matter preceding clause (i) (as redesignated), strike the existing text and insert a new subparagraph heading and short text: “(A) In general Indemnity; and”.
Add a new subparagraph (B) titled “Determination of market value” that requires the Secretary to determine the market value described in subparagraph (A).
Require the Secretary to determine the market value in coordination with the Administrator of the Agricultural Marketing Service.
Require the Secretary to use other appropriate resources, as determined by the Secretary, when determining the market value.
Primary affected parties are livestock producers (farmers and ranchers) who receive indemnity payments for covered livestock losses. Quarterly market-value determinations may make payments more responsive to recent market conditions, which could increase or decrease payment amounts compared with prior practice depending on market volatility. The Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) and USDA staff will need to coordinate and establish a recurring process to gather and analyze market data; this introduces modest administrative work but provides clearer timing and a consistent schedule for valuations. Because the Secretary may use other resources, determinations can incorporate multiple data streams, improving flexibility but also leaving some discretion in how values are derived. There is no new spending, new eligibility, or explicit change to payment formulas in the text beyond the market-value determination process.
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Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.
Introduced April 10, 2025 by Marion Michael Rounds · Last progress April 10, 2025
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.
Introduced in Senate