“ Selection of rural business investment companies– (1) Eligibility– A company shall be eligible to apply to participate, as a rural business investment company, in the program established under this section if— (A) the company is a newly formed for-profit entity or a newly formed for-profit subsidiary of such an entity; (B) the company has a management team with experience in community development financing or relevant venture capital financing; and (C) the company will invest in enterprises that will create wealth and job opportunities in rural areas, with an emphasis on smaller enterprises. ”

“ Any individual who is an officer, employee, or member of the Board is prohibited from any participation in deliberations by the Foundation of a matter that would directly or predictably affect any financial interest of— (i) the individual; (ii) a relative (as defined in section 109 of the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) ) of that individual; or (iii) a business organization or other entity in which the individual has an interest, including an organization or other entity with which the individual is negotiating employment. ”

“ The Corporation shall conduct activities or enter into contracts to carry out research and development to develop a whole farm risk management insurance plan, with a liability limitation of $1,500,000, that allows a diversified crop or livestock producer the option to qualify for an indemnity if actual gross farm revenue is below 85 percent of the average gross farm revenue or the expected gross farm revenue that can reasonably be expected of the producer, as determined by the Corporation . ”

“ On payment of the amount, title to the real property shall be held by the United States in trust for the tribe and the trust or restricted land that has been acquired by the Secretary under foreclosure or voluntary transfer under a loan made or insured under this subtitle and transferred to an Indian person, entity, or tribe under this paragraph shall be considered to have never lost trust or restricted status. ”

“ Priority– In evaluating applications under the program , the Secretary may give priority to land that is currently enrolled in the conservation reserve program in a contract that is set to expire within 1 year and— (1) in the case of an agricultural land easement, is grassland that would benefit from protection under a long-term easement; and (2) in the case of a wetland reserve easement, is a wetland or related area with the highest functions and values and is likely to return to production after the land leaves the conservation reserve program. ”

“ Any loan for farm ownership purposes, farm operating purposes, or disaster emergency purposes, that is deferred, consolidated, rescheduled, or reamortized shall, notwithstanding any other provision of this subtitle, bear interest on the balance of the original loan and for the term of the original loan at a rate that is the lowest of— (1) the rate of interest on the original loan; (2) the rate being charged by the Secretary for loans, other than guaranteed loans, of the same type at the time at which the borrower applies for a deferral, consolidation, rescheduling, or reamortization ”

“ The term mid-tier value chain means a local and regional supply network that links independent producers with businesses and cooperatives that market value-added agricultural products in a manner that— (i) targets and strengthens the profitability and competitiveness of small- and medium-sized farms that are structured as family farms; and (ii) obtains agreement from an eligible agricultural producer group, farmer cooperative, or majority-controlled producer-based business venture that is engaged in the value chain on a marketing strategy. (B) Producer– The term producer means a farmer. ”

“ The term normal income security does not include any equipment (including fixtures in States that have adopted the Uniform Commercial Code) , or foundation herd or flock, that is— (i) the basis of the farming or other operation; and (ii) the basic security for a farmer program loan. (2) General release– the Secretary shall release from the normal income security provided for a loan an amount sufficient to pay for the essential household and farm operating expenses of the borrower, until such time as the Secretary accelerates the loan. ”

“ In general– Notwithstanding any provision of a commodity promotion law, a person that produces, handles, markets, or imports organic products may be exempt from the payment of an assessment under a commodity promotion law with respect to any agricultural commodity that is certified as “organic” or “100 percent organic” (as defined in part 205 of title 7, Code of Federal Regulations (or successor regulations) ) . ”

“ The term eligible livestock producer does not include an owner, cash or share lessee, or contract grower of livestock that rents or leases pastureland or grazing land owned by another person on a rate-of-gain basis. ”

“ For the purpose of averaging the past yields of the farm of a farmer over a period of crop years to calculate the future yield of the farm under this subtitle, the Secretary shall permit the farmer to exclude the crop year with the lowest actual or county average yield for the farm from the calculation, if the farmer was affected by a natural or major disaster or emergency during at least 2 of the crop years during the period. ”

“ Outside businesses– Financial assistance under this chapter may be used as otherwise authorized by this subtitle to attract businesses from outside the region to the region. (c) Reduction of funds– Funds may be provided for a program or project in a State under this chapter only if the Authority determines that the level of Federal or State financial assistance provided under a law other than this chapter, for the same type of program or project in the same area of the State within the region, will not be reduced as a result of funds made available by this chapter. ”

“ Pilot loan program To support healthy foods for the hungry– (1) Definition of gleaner– In this subsection, the term gleaner means an entity that— (A) collects edible, surplus food that would be thrown away and distributes the food to agencies or nonprofit organizations that feed the hungry; or (B) harvests for free distribution to the needy, or for donation to agencies or nonprofit organizations for ultimate distribution to the needy, an agricultural crop that has been donated by the owner of the crop. ”

“ Individual coverage– For purposes of agriculture risk coverage under section 1108, the term individual coverage means coverage determined using the total quantity of all acreage in a county of the covered commodity that is planted or prevented from being planted for harvest by a producer with the yield determined by the average individual yield of the producer described in subsection (c) of that section. (12) Medium grain rice– The term medium grain rice includes short grain rice. ”

“ Definition of seller– For purposes of subparagraph (A) (ii) , if the instrument being sold is a loan, the term “seller” does not include— (i) the person who made the loan; or (ii) any person who sells 3 or fewer guaranteed loans per year. (4) Contract for services– the Secretary may contract for goods and services to be used for the purposes of this subsection without regard to titles 5 , 40 , and 41, United States Code (including any regulations issued under those titles) . ”

“ In general– To achieve the conservation goals of a contract under the conservation stewardship program, the Secretary shall— (1) make the program available to eligible producers on a continuous enrollment basis with 1 or more ranking periods, 1 of which shall occur in the first quarter of each fiscal year; (2) identify not less than 5 priority resource concerns in a particular watershed or other appropriate region or area within a State; and (3) establish a science-based stewardship threshold for each priority resource concern identified under paragraph (2) . ”

“ Eligible entity– The term “eligible entity” means— (A) an agency of State or local government or an Indian tribe (including farmland protection board or land resource council established under State law) ; or (B) an organization that is— (i) organized for, and at all times since the formation of the organization has been operated principally for, 1 or more of the conservation purposes specified in clause (i) , (ii) , (iii) , or (iv) of section 170 (h) (4) (A) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 ”

“ Eligibility– An established farmer shall be eligible under subsection (a) only— (1) if the farmer or an individual holding a majority interest in the farmer— (A) is a citizen of the United States; and (B) has experience and resources that the Secretary determines are sufficient to ensure a reasonable prospect of success in the farming operation proposed by the farmer; (2) in the case of a farmer that is an individual, if the farmer is— (A) in the case of a loan for a purpose under chapter 1, an owner, operator, or lessee-operator described in section 3101 (b) (2) ”

“ Existing energy efficiency programs– An eligible entity that, at any time before the date that is 60 days after the date of enactment of this section, has established an energy efficiency program for qualified consumers may use an existing list of energy efficiency measures, implementation plan, or measurement and verification system of that program to satisfy the requirements of subparagraph (A) if the Secretary determines the list, plan, or systems are consistent with the purposes of this section. ”

“ A State purchasing eligible land with a land purchase grant shall ensure, to the maximum extent practicable, that the purchase price of such land reflects the value, if any, of other encumbrances on the eligible land to be purchased, including easements and mineral rights. (C) Cost-share required– To be eligible to receive a land purchase grant, a State shall provide matching non-Federal funds in an amount equal to 50 percent of the amount described in subparagraph (A) , including additional non-Federal funds. ”

“ A person or legal entity may not receive, directly or indirectly, payments under the program that, in the aggregate, exceed $200,000 under all contracts entered into during fiscal years 2014 through 2018, excluding funding arrangements with Indian tribes, regardless of the number of contracts entered into under the program by the person or legal entity. (g) Specialty crop and organic producers– the Secretary shall ensure that outreach and technical assistance are available, and program specifications are appropriate to enable specialty crop and organic producers to participate in the program. ”

“ Research and development– Research and development with respect to each of the policies described in subparagraph (A) shall evaluate the effectiveness of risk management tools for the production of biomass sorghum or sweet sorghum, including policies and plans of insurance that— (i) are based on market prices and yields; (ii) to the extent that insufficient data exist to develop a policy based on market prices and yields, are based on the use of weather indices, including, at a minimum, excessive or inadequate rainfall, to protect the interests of crop producers ”

“ Conservation– the Secretary may for conservation purposes grant or sell an easement, restriction, development right, or similar legal right to real property to a State, a political subdivision of a State, or a private nonprofit organization separately from the underlying fee or other rights to the property owned by the United States. ”

“ The term eligible forage loss means 1 or more forage losses that occur due to weather-related conditions, including drought, flood, blizzard, hail, excessive moisture, hurricane, and fire, occurring during the normal grazing period, as determined by the Secretary , if the forage— (i) is grown on land that is native or improved pastureland with permanent vegetative cover; or (ii) is a crop planted specifically for the purpose of providing grazing for covered livestock of an eligible livestock producer. ”

“ The Corporation may provide diversification-based additional coverage payment rates, premium discounts, or other enhanced benefits in recognition of the risk management benefits of crop and livestock diversification strategies for producers that grow multiple crops or that may have income from the production of livestock that uses a crop grown on the farm. (D) Market readiness– The Corporation may include coverage for the value of any packing, packaging, or any other similar on-farm activity the Corporation determines to be the minimum required in order to remove the commodity from the field. ”

“ Maximum amount of loan– the Secretary may not make or guarantee a loan under this chapter to a borrower who has suffered a loss in an amount that— (1) exceeds the actual loss caused by a disaster; or (2) would cause the total indebtedness of the borrower under this chapter to exceed $500,000. (b) Interest rates– Any portion of a loan under this chapter up to the amount of the actual loss suffered by a farmer caused by a disaster shall be at a rate prescribed by the Secretary , but not in excess of 8 percent per annum. ”