text: SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
  
      This Act may be cited as the ``Farm Relief Act of 2008''.
  
  SEC. 2. 2008 CROP DISASTER ASSISTANCE.
  
      Section 9001 of the U.S. Troop Readiness, Veterans' Care, Katrina 
  Recovery, and Iraq Accountability Appropriations Act, 2007 (Public Law 
  110-28; 121 Stat. 211) is amended--
              (1) in subsection (a)--
                      (A) by striking ``There are hereby'' and inserting 
                  the following:
              ``(1) In general.--There are hereby''; and
                      (B) by adding at the end the following:
              ``(2) 2008 crop disaster assistance.--
                      ``(A) In general.--There are hereby appropriated to 
                  the Secretary such sums as are necessary, to remain 
                  available until expended, to make emergency financial 
                  assistance under this section available to producers on 
                  a farm that incurred qualifying quantity or quality 
                  losses for the 2008 crop due a natural disaster or any 
                  related condition, as determined by the Secretary.
                      ``(B) Sugar and sugarcane disaster assistance.--
                              ``(i) Florida.--There are hereby 
                          appropriated to the Secretary such sums as are 
                          necessary, to remain available until expended, 
                          to make payments to processors in Florida that 
                          are eligible to obtain a loan under section 
                          156(a) of the Federal Agriculture Improvement 
                          and Reform Act of 1996 (7 U.S.C. 7272(a)) to 
                          compensate first processors and producers for 
                          crop and other losses due a natural disaster or 
                          any related condition, as determined by the 
                          Secretary, in Florida during calendar year 
                          2008, by an agreement on the same terms and 
                          conditions, to the maximum extent practicable, 
                          as the payments made under section 102 of the 
                          Emergency Supplemental Appropriations for 
                          Hurricane Disasters Assistance Act of 2005 
                          (Public Law 108-324; 118 Stat. 1235), including 
                          that the 2008 base production of each 
                          harvesting unit shall be determined using the 
                          same base year crop production history that was 
                          used pursuant to the agreement under that 
                          section.
                              ``(ii) Louisiana.--
                                      ``(I) Compensation for losses.--
                                  There are hereby appropriated to the 
                                  Secretary such sums as are necessary, 
                                  to remain available until expended, to 
                                  make assistance available to first 
                                  processors of sugarcane that operate in 
                                  a county affected by a natural 
                                  disaster, or obtain sugarcane from a 
                                  county affected by a natural disaster, 
                                  in Louisiana and that are eligible to 
                                  obtain a loan under section 156(a) of 
                                  the Federal Agriculture Improvement and 
                                  Reform Act of 1996 (7 U.S.C. 7272(a)), 
                                  in the form of monetary payments or 
                                  commodities in the inventory of the 
                                  Commodity Credit Corporation derived 
                                  from carrying out that section, to 
                                  compensate producers and first 
                                  processors for crop and other losses 
                                  due to the natural disaster or any 
                                  related condition, as determined by the 
                                  Secretary.
                                      ``(II) Administration.--Assistance 
                                  under this clause shall be--
                                              ``(aa) shared by an 
                                          affected first processor with 
                                          affected producers that provide 
                                          commodities to the processor in 
                                          a manner that reflects 
                                          contracts entered into between 
                                          the processor and the 
                                          producers, except with respect 
                                          to a portion of the amount of 
                                          total assistance provided under 
                                          subclause (I) necessary to 
                                          compensate affected producers 
                                          for individual losses 
                                          experienced by the producers, 
                                          including losses due to 
                                          saltwater intrusion, flooding, 
                                          wind damage, or increased 
                                          planting, replanting, or 
                                          harvesting costs, which shall 
                                          be transferred by the first 
                                          processor to the affected 
                                          producers without regard to 
                                          contractual share arrangements; 
                                          and
                                              ``(bb) made available under 
                                          such terms and conditions as 
                                          the Secretary determines are 
                                          necessary to carry out this 
                                          clause.
                                      ``(III) Form of assistance.--In 
                                  carrying out this clause, the Secretary 
                                  shall--
                                              ``(aa) convey to the first 
                                          processor commodities in the 
                                          inventory of the Commodity 
                                          Credit Corporation derived from 
                                          carrying out section 156(a) of 
                                          the Federal Agriculture 
                                          Improvement and Reform Act of 
                                          1996 (7 U.S.C. 7272(a));
                                              ``(bb) make monetary 
                                          payments to the first 
                                          processor; or
                                              ``(cc) take any combination 
                                          of actions described in items 
                                          (aa) and (bb), using 
                                          commodities or monetary 
                                          payments.
                                      ``(IV) Loss determination.--In 
                                  carrying out this clause, the Secretary 
                                  shall use the same base year to 
                                  determine crop loss that was elected by 
                                  a producer to determine crop loss in 
                                  carrying out the hurricane assistance 
                                  program under section 207 of the 
                                  Agricultural Assistance Act of 2003 
                                  (Public Law 108-7; 117 Stat. 543).
                              ``(iii) Texas.--There are hereby 
                          appropriated to the Secretary such sums as are 
                          necessary, to remain available until expended, 
                          to assist sugarcane growers in Texas by making 
                          a payment in that amount to a farmer-owned 
                          cooperative sugarcane processor in that State, 
                          for costs of demurrage, storage, and 
                          transportation resulting from natural disaster 
                          or any related condition during calendar year 
                          2008.
                      ``(C) Relation to supplemental agricultural 
                  disaster assistance program.--A producer on a farm that 
                  accepts assistance made available under this paragraph 
                  for a crop loss is not eligible to receive supplemental 
                  agricultural disaster assistance for that crop loss 
                  under subtitle B of the Federal Crop Insurance Act (7 
                  U.S.C. 1531) or title IX of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 
                  U.S.C. 2497 et seq.).''; and
              (2) in subsection (b), by striking ``this section'' each 
          place it appears and inserting ``subsection (a)(1)''.
  
  SEC. 3. AQUACULTURE GRANTS.
  
      (a) Definition of Eligible Applicant.--In this section, the term 
  ``eligible applicant'' means a producer of animals described in section 
  10806(a)(1) of the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 (21 
  U.S.C. 321d(a)(1)) during the 2008 calendar year.
      (b) Aquaculture Grants.--Of the funds of the Commodity Credit 
  Corporation, the Secretary of Agriculture shall use $50,000,000 to 
  provide grants to appropriate State departments of agriculture (or 
  other appropriate State agencies) that agree to provide assistance to 
  eligible applicants through animal feed providers that agree to make 
  the assistance available on a pro rata basis to eligible applicants 
  based on documented feed use by the eligible applicants during the 2008 
  calendar year to help offset feed costs or economic losses caused by 
  natural disasters.
      (c) Duty of Secretary.--The Secretary shall ensure that--
              (1) funds made available under subsection (b) are 
          apportioned in an equitable manner among the States that 
          receive funds under this section; and
              (2) assistance is made available based only on documented 
          feed use.
      (d) Regulations.--
              (1) In general.--The Secretary of Agriculture may 
          promulgate such regulations as are necessary to implement this 
          section.
              (2) Procedure.--The promulgation of the regulations and 
          administration of this section shall be made without regard 
          to--
                      (A) the notice and comment provisions of section 
                  553 of title 5, United States Code;
                      (B) the Statement of Policy of the Secretary of 
                  Agriculture effective July 24, 1971 (36 Fed. Reg. 
                  13804), relating to notices of proposed rulemaking and 
                  public participation in rulemaking; and
                      (C) chapter 35 of title 44, United States Code 
                  (commonly known as the ``Paperwork Reduction Act'').
              (3) Congressional review of agency rulemaking.--In carrying 
          out this subsection, the Secretary shall use the authority 
          provided under section 808 of title 5, United States Code.
target: Farm Relief Act of 2008 - Amends the U.S. Troop Readiness, Veterans' Care, Katrina Recovery, and Iraq Accountability Appropriations Act, 2007 to appropriate funds for: (1) emergency financial assistance to producers on a farm that incurred qualifying natural disaster-caused quantity or quality losses for the 2008 crop; (2) certain processors in Florida for natural disaster-caused crop and other losses in 2008; (3) certain first processors of sugarcane that operate in a county affected by a natural disaster or obtain sugarcane from a county affected by a natural disaster in Louisiana; and (4) certain sugarcane growers in Texas for natural disaster-caused demurrage, storage, and transportation costs in 2008.
  
  Provides specified Commodity Credit Corporation funds for grants to state departments of agriculture for assistance to eligible catfish producers to help offset natural disaster-caused feed costs or economic losses in 2008.
feat_title: To require the Secretary of Agriculture to provide crop disaster assistance to agricultural producers that suffered qualifying quantity or quality losses for the 2008 crop year due to a natural disaster.