Research and development

Section 522(c) of the Federal Crop Insurance Act (7 U.S.C. 1522(c)) is amended by adding at the end the following: (20) Organic producers (A) In general The Corporation shall carry out research and development, or offer to enter into 1 or more contracts with 1 or more qualified persons to carry out research and development, regarding impediments faced by organic producers in participating in Federal crop insurance. (B) Report Not later than 18 months after the date of enactment of the Agricultural Act of 2026, the Corporation shall submit to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate and the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives a report that describes— (i) the results of the research and development carried out under subparagraph (A); and (ii) any recommendations with respect to those results. (21) Wine grapes (A) In general The Corporation shall carry out research and development, or offer to enter into 1 or more contracts with 1 or more qualified persons to carry out research and development, regarding a policy to insure wine grapes (including wine grapes produced in the States of California, Oregon, and Washington) against losses due to wildfire smoke exposure. (B) Report Not later than 18 months after the date of enactment of the Agricultural Act of 2026, the Corporation shall submit to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate and the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives a report that describes— (i) the results of the research and development carried out under subparagraph (A); and (ii) any recommendations with respect to those results. (22) Mushrooms (A) In general The Corporation shall carry out research and development, or offer to enter into 1 or more contracts with 1 or more qualified persons to carry out research and development, regarding a policy to insure mushrooms. (B) Report Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of the Agricultural Act of 2026, the Corporation shall submit to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate and the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives, and make publicly available, a report that describes— (i) the results of the research and development carried out under subparagraph (A); and (ii) any recommendations with respect to those results. (23) Frost, freeze, or cold weather insurance (A) In general The Corporation shall carry out research and development, or offer to enter into 1 or more contracts with 1 or more qualified persons to carry out research and development, regarding an index-based policy to insure crops (including tomatoes, table grapes, wine grapes, juice grapes, peppers, sugarcane, strawberries, melons, citrus, peaches, blueberries, apples, cherries, and any other crop) against losses due to a frost, freeze, or cold weather event. (B) Research and development Research and development under subparagraph (A) shall— (i) evaluate the effectiveness of risk management tools, such as the use of an index, with respect to low frequency and catastrophic loss weather events; and (ii) result in a policy that provides protection for at least 1 of the following: (I) Production loss. (II) Revenue loss. (C) Report Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of the Agricultural Act of 2026, the Corporation shall submit to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate and the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives a report that describes— (i) the results of the research and development carried out under subparagraph (A); and (ii) any recommendations with respect to those results. (24) Double cropping and rotational cropping of certain oilseed crops (A) Definition of covered oilseed crops In this paragraph, the term covered oilseed crops means rapeseed, canola, camelina, and other oilseed crops that— (i) require a period of cold temperature (vernalization) before the plants will produce flowers and seeds; and (ii) are planted and harvested on land that would otherwise be idle in a rotation pattern. (B) Research and development The Corporation shall carry out research and development, or offer to enter into 1 or more contracts with 1 or more qualified persons to carry out research and development, with respect to the inclusion of covered oilseed crops under double cropping and rotational cropping policies. (C) Requirements The research and development carried out pursuant to subparagraph (B) shall be conducted in consultation with stakeholders to evaluate— (i) the factors impacting availability and cost of crop insurance when incorporating covered oilseed crops into double cropping and rotational cropping policies; and (ii) the potential risk management benefits associated with incorporating covered oilseed crops into double cropping and rotational cropping policies, including risk management benefits to soil health, biodiversity, and the profitability of farming operations. (D) Emphasis In awarding contracts under subparagraph (B), the Corporation may place emphasis on qualified persons and institutions that— (i) have previous research experience with covered oilseed crops; and (ii) have access to a facility with the capacity to do the applicable research. (E) Report Not later than 13 months after the date of enactment of the Agricultural Act of 2026, the Corporation shall submit to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate and the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives, and make publicly available, a report that describes— (i) the results of the research and development carried out under subparagraph (B); and (ii) any recommendations with respect to those results. (25) Study on supplemental coverage option (A) In general The Corporation shall carry out a study, or offer to enter into 1 or more contracts with 1 or more qualified persons to carry out a study, to determine the feasibility of modifying the supplemental coverage option described in section 508(c)(4)(C) to provide coverage for counties larger than 1,400 square miles— (i) at a level smaller than county-wide; and (ii) at a level greater than individual coverage. (B) Report Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of the Agricultural Act of 2026, the Corporation shall submit to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate and the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives a report that describes— (i) the results of the study carried out under subparagraph (A); and (ii) any recommendations with respect to those results. (26) Blueberries (A) In general The Corporation shall carry out research and development, or offer to enter into 1 or more contracts with 1 or more qualified persons to carry out research and development, regarding— (i) improvements to existing policies (including the Actual Production History policy) to insure blueberries, including taking into consideration multiple crop types and values; and (ii) a policy to insure blueberries against revenue loss. (B) Report Not later than 18 months after the date of enactment of the Agricultural Act of 2026, the Corporation shall submit to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate and the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives a report that describes— (i) the results of the research and development carried out under subparagraph (A); and (ii) any recommendations with respect to those results. (27) Pecan revenue enhancements (A) Research and development (i) In general The Corporation shall carry out research and development, or offer to enter into 1 or more contracts with 1 or more qualified persons to carry out research and development, to explore options to mitigate the impacts of hurricanes, freezes, droughts, and other natural disasters (as determined by the Secretary) on the revenue guarantee under the Pecan Revenue policy by offering 1 or more of the following: (I) Options to exclude certain crop years from revenue history, in a manner similar to section 508(g)(4)(C). (II) Streamlined process and procedures to allow approved insurance providers to increase revenue guarantees on restoration of pecan production after a natural disaster. (III) Other policy and procedural changes that— (aa) mitigate the impact of low-revenue years; and (bb) retain actuarial soundness. (ii) Policy changes Notwithstanding section 508(g)(4)(C), the Corporation shall make a policy change described in subclause (I) or (III) of clause (i) available if the requirements of section 508(h) are met. (B) Report Not later than 18 months after the date of enactment of the Agricultural Act of 2026, the Corporation shall submit to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate and the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives a report that describes— (i) the results of the research and development carried out under subparagraph (A); and (ii) any recommendations with respect to those results. (28) Standalone policy for hurricanes and tropical storms (A) In general The Corporation shall conduct a study, or offer to enter into 1 or more contracts with 1 or more qualified persons to conduct a study, to determine the feasibility of making available insurance against tropical storms and hurricanes, regardless of whether there exists an applicable underlying crop insurance policy. (B) Report Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of the Agricultural Act of 2026, the Corporation shall submit to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate and the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives a report that describes the results of the study conducted under subparagraph (A). (29) Harvest incentives (A) In general Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of the Agricultural Act of 2026, the Corporation shall carry out research and development, or offer to enter into 1 or more contracts with 1 or more qualified persons to carry out research and development, relating to harvest incentives for policies that provide coverage against losses of revenue. (B) Availability of policy Notwithstanding paragraphs (1)(B) and (2) of section 508(a), not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of the Agricultural Act of 2026, the Corporation shall make available a policy described in subparagraph (A) if the requirements of section 508(h) are met. (C) Report Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of the Agricultural Act of 2026, the Corporation shall submit to the Committees on Appropriations and Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate and the Committees on Appropriations and Agriculture of the House of Representatives a report that describes— (i) the results of the research and development carried out under subparagraph (A); and (ii) any policy made available under this paragraph. (30) Separate enterprise units for fallow cropping systems (A) In general The Corporation shall carry out a study, or offer to enter into 1 or more contracts with 1 or more qualified persons to carry out a study, to determine the feasibility of allowing separate enterprise units for fallow and continuous acreage of crops in counties. (B) Report Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of the Agricultural Act of 2026, the Corporation shall submit to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate and the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives a report that describes— (i) the results of the study carried out under subparagraph (A); and (ii) any recommendations with respect to those results..