A bill to provide disaster assistance to agricultural producers and ranchers.

(Reported to House from the Committee on Agriculture with amendment, H. Rept. 98-488)

Amends the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act to exclude payment-in-kind (PIK) payments from (production loss) disaster loan eligibility determinations. Bases 1983 loan amounts on the average price of the commodity in the affected State for the first nine months of 1983.

Permits farmers and ranchers to qualify for such assistance whether or not their counties have been designated as disaster areas. Requires an applicant to establish to the Secretary of Agriculture's satisfaction that production losses were caused by natural disaster. Makes such determination final unless judicially determined to have been arbitrarily made.

States that during the period July 1, 1983 through September 30, 1984, findings of the Secretary under such Act that a natural disaster exists in an area shall be deemed as determinations that an emergency exists for purposes of: (1) reserve wheat and feed grain inventories under the Agricultural Act of 1970; and (2) the privately-purchased livestock and poultry emergency feed program under the Food and Agriculture Act of 1977.

Directs the Secretary to make such disaster assistance available for the preservation of foundation herds of livestock and poultry until September 30, 1984, or earlier as the Secretary may determine.

States that such assistance shall be at 75 percent of the county loan level.

Limits program expenditures, including cash obligations and commodity equivalents, to $500,000,000.