Implementation

7 U.S. Code § 9097. Implementation

(a) Maintenance of base acres and payment yields
The Secretary shall maintain, for each covered commodity and upland cotton, base acres and payment yields on a farm established under sections 8702 and 8751 of this title, as adjusted pursuant to sections 8711, 8712, 8718, and 8752 of this title, as in effect on September 30, 2013, and as adjusted pursuant to sections 9012 and 9013 of this title.
(b) StreamliningIn implementing this chapter and the amendments made by this title,[1] the Secretary shall—
(1) continue to reduce administrative burdens and costs to producers by streamlining and reducing paperwork, forms, and other administrative requirements, to ensure that—
(A) a producer (or an agent of a producer) may report information, electronically (including geospatial data) or conventionally, to the Department of Agriculture, subject to the Secretary—
(i)
establishing reasonable levels of tolerance that reflect the differences in accuracy between measures of common land units and geospatial data; and
(ii)
ensuring that discrepancies that occur within the levels of tolerance established under clause (i) shall not be used to penalize a producer (or an agent of a producer) under any program administered by the Department of Agriculture;
(B)
on the request of a producer (or an agent of a producer), the Department of Agriculture electronically shares with the producer (or agent) in real time and without cost to the producer (or agent) the common land unit data, related farm level data, conservation practices, and other information of the producer through a single Department of Agriculture-wide login;
(C)
not later than September 30, 2020, the Administrator of the Risk Management Agency and the Administrator of the Farm Service Agency shall implement a consistent method for determining crop acreage, acreage yields, farm acreage, property descriptions, and other common informational requirements, including measures of common land units;
(D)
except in the case of misrepresentation, fraud, or scheme and device, no crop insurance agent, approved insurance provider, or employee or contractor of a crop insurance agency or approved insurance provider bears responsibility or liability under the Acreage Crop Reporting and Streamlining Initiative (or any successor or similar initiative) for the eligibility of a producer for a program administered by the Department of Agriculture, not including a policy or plan of insurance offered under the Federal Crop Insurance Act (7 U.S.C. 1501 et seq.); and
(E)
on request of a crop insurance agent or approved insurance provider required to deliver policies and plans of insurance under the Federal Crop Insurance Act (7 U.S.C. 1501 et seq.) the crop insurance agent or approved insurance provider receives, in a timely manner, any information held by the Farm Service Agency that is necessary to ensure effective crop insurance coverage for farmer customers;
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