Sponsors (20)
Directs the FCIC to develop and evaluate a national index-based frost/cold-weather insurance product for listed specialty crops and report results within one year.
The bill offers specialty-crop growers a faster, index-based frost/cold insurance option and federal study of the approach, but it brings notable basis risk for individual farms and potential added costs and a tight reporting timeline that could limit careful evaluation.
Specialty-crop farmers gain access to a new federal index-based insurance option that can cover frost/cold production or revenue losses, improving financial resilience for affected growers.
Growers could receive faster, more predictable payouts and face fewer claims disputes because an index-based product uses objective triggers rather than individual loss adjustments.
Congress and taxpayers receive a required research and reporting process within one year, increasing federal oversight and creating the evidence base for future policy decisions.
Some individual farms may be under- or over-compensated because index-based coverage can diverge from actual on-farm losses (basis risk), leaving some growers with inadequate protection.
Creating and running a new national index-based policy could raise administrative costs that may be borne by taxpayers or increase premiums for farmers.
A one-year deadline for research and reporting may be too short for thorough development and evaluation, risking incomplete analysis and premature policy recommendations.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Official title: To amend the Federal Crop Insurance Act to direct the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation to conduct research and development on frost or cold weather insurance, and for other purposes.
Introduced February 10, 2026 by Scott Franklin · Last progress February 10, 2026
Requires the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation to carry out or contract research and development to create a nationally available index-based crop insurance product that protects listed specialty crops against frost or cold-weather events, and to report findings and recommendations to congressional agriculture committees within one year. The product must be designed to cover at least production loss or revenue loss and the R&D must evaluate index-based methods for low-frequency and catastrophic cold events.