U.S. HOUSE APPROVES PILOT 0/92 DISASTER PROGRAM The House of Representatives approved a bill to enable 1987 winter wheat and feedgrains farmers hit by midwestern flooding last year to receive at least 92 pct of their federal income support payments even if they did not plant. The one-time pilot 0/92 program, designed to assist farmers in Kansas, Oklahoma, Michigan and parts of Missouri, was passed by a 304-100 vote and sent to the Senate. Although the bill includes a narrow version of the 0/92 provision endorsed by the Reagan administration, the U.S. Agriculture Department withheld its support from the measure. USDA said the bill would discourage farmers from buying crop insurance and fall short of the administration's proposed broad-scale revision of farm programs. The bill would permit winter wheat producers prevented from planting their 1987 crop last fall to receive 92 pct of the deficiency payments they would have received. To be eligible, winter wheat farmers could not plant a different crop on that land this spring, although they could use the land for grazing or to plant hay. USDA estimated this provision would save 30 mln dlrs, largely because of reduced crop forfeitures. The bill also would aid about 200 feedgrains producers along the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers who were prevented from planting crops this year because of residual damage from last fall's flooding. In addition, the measure would require USDA to make full payment to farmers eligible for emergency assistance approved by Congress last fall. Currently, because claims have outstripped the 400 mln dlrs in appropriated funds, USDA plans to offer farmers in the region 74 cents for every dollar in disaster losses. The administration said it opposed the bill because, by expanding the 400 mln dlrs in disaster relief, it would thwart efforts to encourage farmers to buy crop insurance as an alternative to federal disaster assistance. USDA also said the 0/92 provisions in the bill were narrower than the administration's proposal to offer the option to all major commodities and would produce insignificant savings. USDA said the 0/92 option for 1987 winter wheat farmers would produce a net savings of about 30 mln dlrs, while the requirement to compensate fully disaster-struck farmers would cost about 135 mln dlrs, which must be appropriated by Congress. The feedgrains provision would cost about five mln dlrs. USDA estimated the overall cost of the bill to be 111 mln dlrs. In January the Senate approved a bill that would make 1987 winter wheat farmers eligible for disaster assistance payments. But the Senate bill would not offer the 0/92 option to wheat and feedgrains producers or raise the 400-mln dlr ceiling on the disaster assistance program.