PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Referred to the House Committee on Agriculture.
Congressional Research Service
No official summary is available in the imported record yet.
People & committees
Rep. Hurd, Jeff [R-CO-3] · R–CO
Legislative record
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Referred to the House Committee on Agriculture.
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Primary sources
Text links open the official source. We also preserved the text version used in the PlainBill explanation below.
Source last updated: Sep 29, 2026. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
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PlainBill explanation
Based on the full Introduced in House · 2026-09-16 text. This explanation has not received human editorial review. This overview describes the proposal’s major provisions; it does not establish what its real-world effects would be.
This bill would require certain farm programs to recognize qualifying acres as prevented from planting when farmers reasonably expect too little irrigation water. Eligibility would depend on irrigation equipment, past farming and whether the crop could grow without irrigation. Payments would decline after repeated consecutive years, eventually ending permanently. The bill would also change rules for recognizing drought and determining natural disasters.
the Secretary shall consider acreage on a farm to be prevented from planting for a crop year if—
(1) the producers on the farm did not plant those acres based on a reasonable expectation that there would be insufficient irrigation water available for that crop year to irrigate those acres; (2) the infrastructure to irrigate those acres is installed and functional for that crop year; (3) those acres have been irrigated in one or more of the previous 4 crop years in which irrigation water was sufficient; (4) in one or more of the previous 4 crop years, the producers on the farm planted to those acres the same crop that was prevented from planting; and (5) the land or environment for the acres prevented from planting does not support dryland farming for the crop that was prevented from planting.
(A) for the fifth through eighth consecutive crop years by 50 percent; (B) for the ninth and tenth consecutive crop years by 75 percent; and (C) for the eleventh consecutive crop year and each crop year thereafter by 100 percent. (2) Ineligibility Any acreage subject to a reduction under paragraph (1)(C) shall be permanently ineligible for payments provided under covered programs.
a lack of water resulting from drought conditions described in that section shall include a lack of water resulting from drought conditions at the source of an irrigation supply.
in determining natural disasters described in that section, the Commodity Credit Corporation shall consult with Farm Service Agency county committees and State technical committees.
The proposed eligibility rules would apply to programs governed by 7 CFR 718.103 or a successor regulation. The Secretary of Agriculture would administer these rules through the Farm Service Agency's Administrator.
(1) Covered program The term covered program means a program to which section 718.103 of title 7, Code of Federal Regulations (or a successor regulation), applies.
(3) Secretary The term Secretary means the Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the Administrator of the Farm Service Agency.
Irrigation water would mean water a landowner can access to irrigate crops, including through a water allocation or other availability. Eligible sources would include snowmelt, runoff, streams, reservoirs, groundwater aquifers and similar sources.
(2) Irrigation water The term irrigation water means any water that— (A) a landowner has access to, through appropriation, allocation, open access, or other availability, for the use of irrigating crops; and (B) is sourced through snowmelt, runoff, stream flow, reservoir, groundwater aquifer, or another similar source.
Acres would qualify only if all five conditions were met: farmers left them unplanted because they reasonably expected insufficient irrigation water; irrigation equipment was installed and working that crop year; the acres were irrigated in at least one of the previous four crop years in which water was sufficient; farmers grew the same crop on those acres in at least one of the previous four crop years; and the land or environment could not support growing that crop without irrigation.
(b) Eligibility In carrying out any covered program, the Secretary shall consider acreage on a farm to be prevented from planting for a crop year if— (1) the producers on the farm did not plant those acres based on a reasonable expectation that there would be insufficient irrigation water available for that crop year to irrigate those acres; (2) the infrastructure to irrigate those acres is installed and functional for that crop year; (3) those acres have been irrigated in one or more of the previous 4 crop years in which irrigation water was sufficient; (4) in one or more of the previous 4 crop years, the producers on the farm planted to those acres the same crop that was prevented from planting; and (5) the land or environment for the acres prevented from planting does not support dryland farming for the crop that was prevented from planting.
For acres recognized under this provision, any covered-program payments would be reduced by 50% in the fifth through eighth consecutive crop years, by 75% in the ninth and tenth, and by 100% beginning in the eleventh. Acres reaching the 100% reduction would become permanently ineligible for covered-program payments.
(c) Limitations (1) Reduction in payment amounts The Secretary shall reduce the amount of any payments provided under covered programs with respect to acreage that the Secretary considers to be prevented from planting pursuant to subsection (b)— (A) for the fifth through eighth consecutive crop years by 50 percent; (B) for the ninth and tenth consecutive crop years by 75 percent; and (C) for the eleventh consecutive crop year and each crop year thereafter by 100 percent. (2) Ineligibility Any acreage subject to a reduction under paragraph (1)(C) shall be permanently ineligible for payments provided under covered programs.
The Secretary of Agriculture would have to revise the drought rule in 7 CFR 718.103(e) so that it includes water shortages caused by drought at the source of an irrigation supply.
(1) Drought conditions The Secretary of Agriculture shall revise section 718.103(e) of title 7, Code of Federal Regulations, to provide that a lack of water resulting from drought conditions described in that section shall include a lack of water resulting from drought conditions at the source of an irrigation supply.
The Secretary of Agriculture would also have to revise 7 CFR 718.103(g) to require the Commodity Credit Corporation to consult Farm Service Agency county committees and State technical committees when determining the natural disasters described in that regulation.
(2) Disaster determination The Secretary of Agriculture shall revise section 718.103(g) of title 7, Code of Federal Regulations, to provide that, in determining natural disasters described in that section, the Commodity Credit Corporation shall consult with Farm Service Agency county committees and State technical committees.
The supplied actions snapshot, updated September 29, 2026, records introduction in the House and referral to the House Committee on Agriculture on September 16, 2026.
Source snapshot updated 2026-09-29T17:13:11Z. 2026-09-16: Referred to the House Committee on Agriculture. 2026-09-16: Introduced in House
A closer look
Reviewed version: Introduced in House · 2026-09-16. These findings describe provisions and who may benefit; they are not judgments of waste, corruption, or motive.
This review covers the supplied bill text. “None identified” does not rule out provisions in later versions or accompanying reports and disclosures.
Provisions outside the bill’s main subject, or policy changes attached to appropriations.
None identified in the reviewed text
No unrelated provision or policy rider attached to appropriations was identified in the supplied complete introduced text. This conclusion does not cover other versions or accompanying materials.
Spending directed to particular recipients or places outside ordinary competitive or formula-based allocation.
None identified in the reviewed text
No congressionally directed spending for a particular recipient or place was identified in the supplied complete introduced text. This conclusion does not establish absence in other versions or accompanying materials.
Narrow exceptions, exemptions, or preferential treatment that warrant a closer look.
None identified in the reviewed text
No materially narrow preferential carve-out was identified in the supplied complete introduced text. Eligibility criteria for the policy's intended beneficiaries do not alone constitute a targeted benefit. This conclusion is limited to this version.
Full text preserved for this analysis. Legislative record snapshot: Sep 29, 2026. How PlainBill uses AI