Source: POLITICO'S MORNING AGRICULTURE, 8/1/22

House Ag Chair David Scott (D-Ga.) released his version of a bill to help small ranchers, which includes insurance premium subsidies and additional safety nets for ranchers.

What’s in the bill: The bill, dubbed the Small Family Farmer and Rancher Relief Act, is split into two parts — one to increase the safety net for small ranchers and another to increase competition and market access.

The first section includes:
— An increased premium subsidy for ranchers insuring a herd of 100 cattle or less under the Livestock Risk Protection program.
— The creation of a Beef Cattle Spread Coverage Program at the USDA, an indemnity program that would provide relief when the farmer’s share of the retail dollar falls below 51.7 percent.
— Providing resources to the USDA to educate producers and insurance agents on the utility of the new insurance and safety net programs.

The second section includes:
— The creation of a Small Rancher Market Access competitive grant program at USDA to help eligible entities aggregate, add value and market meat products to local and regional markets with a focus on direct-to-consumer and direct-to-institution sales.
— Eligible entities for the program include: individual ranchers, cooperatives of small cattle producers with a majority of members under a certain size (average of 100 head or fewer), nonprofits or land-grant universities with experience working with small cattle producers, tribal governments, food hubs or community supported agriculture programs.
— Program eligibility would prioritize underserved and limited resource producers.

Big Beef blowback: Big beef, however, is not on board with Scott’s proposal.
Ethan Lane, the vice president of government affairs at the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, said the bill “prompts more questions than it provides answers,” and “look[s] forward to working with our partners in the livestock community to address the blind spots in this proposal.”