TEMP Act
Key claim: The TEMP Act directs the federal crop insurance program to research and develop a nationally-available temperature-based index insurance policy protecting specific crops against frost and cold weather losses.
Abstract
(HR7464 · 119th Congress) Temperature Event Mitigation Policy Act or the TEMP Act This bill directs the federal crop insurance program to provide for research and development regarding a temperature-based index policy to insure crops (including tomatoes, peppers, sugarcane, strawberries, melons, citrus, peaches, and blueberries) on a nationally-available basis against losses due to a frost or cold weather event. The research and development must (1) evaluate the effectiveness of risk management tools with respect to low frequency and catastrophic loss weather events, and (2) result in a policy that provides protection for production loss or revenue loss. The term policy means an insurance policy, plan of insurance, provision of a policy or plan of insurance, and related materials. Under an index policy, claim payments are generally triggered based on a predetermined index that is entirely independent of the individual farm operation (e.g., temperature level). Under such a policy, the payments are automatically triggered when the index reaches a certain level rather than when an insured farmer files a claim. Latest action (2026-03-20): Referred to the Subcommittee on General Farm Commodities, Risk Management, and Credit.
Why this matters
Frost and cold snaps are a leading cause of losses for specialty and perennial crops, and existing federal crop insurance products often reimburse slowly through loss adjustment. A temperature-based index policy could give affected farmers faster, more predictable payouts when cold events occur, though index designs carry basis risk if measured temperatures don’t match on-farm damage. The downstream effect on consumer food prices depends on how broadly the policy is adopted and whether it stabilizes supply after cold events.