Michael Bennet (D-CO)
A bill to direct the Secretary of Agriculture to consider certain acreage not planted due to a lack of irrigation water to be eligible for prevented planting payments, and for other purposes.
A Democratic bill with no cosponsors
Last activity — Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.
In committee
Introduced and handed to a committee in the chamber it started in.
The committee holds it, and most bills are never heard from again. A hearing or a committee vote would be news; silence is the usual outcome, and it kills the bill without anyone voting against it.
Its path through Congress
- Introduced
- In Committee
What this bill would do
This bill directs the Secretary of Agriculture to allow certain acreage not planted due to a lack of irrigation water to qualify for prevented planting payments. It defines irrigation water as water available through various sources like snowmelt, runoff, or groundwater. To be eligible, producers must show they didn't plant due to expected insufficient water, have functional irrigation infrastructure, and have successfully irrigated those acres or planted the same crop there in recent years. The bill also specifies that the land must not support dryland farming for that crop. It includes a system of payment reductions for consecutive years of non-planting and requires revisions to existing federal regulations regarding drought and disaster determinations.
Yes· 3 of 8
- Scored +5
Would business owners be better off under this?
The bill provides financial relief to producers who cannot plant due to irrigation water shortages.
- Scored +5
Would farmers be better off under this?
The bill allows farmers to qualify for prevented planting payments due to insufficient irrigation water.
- Scored +5
Does this make the government pay for what it commits to?
The bill establishes a tiered reduction system that eventually eliminates payments for land with chronic water shortages.
The opposite
No question was scored the opposite.
Who it would affect, and how
Potential Positive Impacts for People
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Eligibility for Prevented Planting Payments: Under Section 1(b), producers can receive payments if they did not plant acreage due to a reasonable expectation of insufficient irrigation water, provided they have functional irrigation infrastructure and a history of successful irrigation or planting on those acres.
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Updated Drought Definitions: Section 1(d)(1) directs the Secretary to revise regulations so that a lack of water resulting from drought conditions at the source of an irrigation supply is included under existing drought condition descriptions.
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Improved Disaster Determinations: Section 1(d)(2) requires the Commodity Credit Corporation to consult with Farm Service Agency county committees and State technical committees when determining natural disasters.
Potential Negative Impacts for People
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Reduction in Payment Amounts: According to Section 1(c)(1), payments will be reduced for acreage considered prevented from planting for consecutive years; specifically, payments are reduced by 50 percent for the fifth through eighth years, and by 75 percent for the ninth and tenth years.
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Permanent Ineligibility: Section 1(c)(2) states that any acreage subject to a 100 percent reduction in payment amounts—which occurs at the eleventh consecutive crop year—will become permanently ineligible for payments under covered programs.
Groups and Interests Ranking
Every group the model scored this bill for, from -10 to +10. Tap or hover a score for the reason it gave.
- Demographic And Interest Groups
- Would business owners be better off under this? — The bill provides financial relief to producers who cannot plant due to irrigation water shortages. Would farmers be better off under this? — The bill allows farmers to qualify for prevented planting payments due to insufficient irrigation water. Would people in rural areas be better off under this? — The bill addresses agricultural risks associated with water availability in rural areas.
- Economy And Finance
- Does this make the government pay for what it commits to? — The bill establishes a tiered reduction system that eventually eliminates payments for land with chronic water shortages. Does this make it easier to run a small business? — The bill provides new eligibility for prevented planting payments to producers facing irrigation water shortages.
- Environment Energy And Infrastructure
- Does this invest in rural communities? — The bill supports agricultural stability in rural areas by providing payments when irrigation water is insufficient. Does this better protect air, water and wildlife? — The bill accounts for water scarcity at the source of irrigation supplies in drought and disaster determinations.
- Governance And Ideology
- Does this make what the government does easier for the public to see? — The bill requires the Commodity Credit Corporation to consult with local Farm Service Agency committees in disaster determinations.
- 6/23/2026
- Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.
- Introduced in Senate
One bill Congress.gov lists as related to this one — companions in the other chamber, earlier versions, and bills this one absorbed or was folded into.