# Save Our Small Farms Act of 2024: What It Actually Does

This bill is designed to help small and diversified farmers stay in business by making it easier for them to get crop insurance and disaster assistance. Right now, many small farmers—especially those growing specialty crops, vegetables, or selling directly to consumers—struggle to access affordable insurance because the system was built for large-scale commodity farmers growing corn, soybeans, and wheat.

The bill tackles this problem in several ways. First, it improves the existing government disaster assistance program (called NAP, or noninsured crop assistance) that helps farmers when their crops fail but they don't have insurance. The changes make it simpler for small farmers to apply, give them more time to report losses (especially important for crops that spoil quickly like berries or lettuce), and allow them to use photos or drone footage instead of requiring an inspector to visit their farm in person. The bill also expands which crops qualify for this assistance and increases the payment amount from 65 percent to 100 percent of losses for certain farmers.

Second, the bill creates a pathway to help small farmers transition from the disaster assistance program to whole farm revenue insurance—a more comprehensive insurance product that protects against income loss from multiple crops and weather events. To make this transition easier, the government would offer discounts of 25 to 50 percent on insurance premiums for farmers who commit to switching over the next few years. The bill also requires that tax forms farmers already file with the IRS can be used to prove their farm income, eliminating the need for extensive additional paperwork.

Finally, the bill directs the government to research and develop a new simplified insurance product called "single index insurance" that would work differently from traditional crop insurance. Instead of requiring detailed farm records, this policy would pay out automatically when certain weather events (like excessive rain, drought, or extreme heat) occur in a farmer's county. This approach could be especially helpful for small-scale and specialty crop farmers who find traditional insurance too complicated or expensive. The bill also requires the government to better advertise these programs to farmers who currently don't know about them, particularly through extension offices and state agriculture departments.