The 5 Percent (Disaster Payment) Solution

John Phipps earlier expressed his disbelief, so I'm late to the game:

Ken Anderson reported yesterday at Brownfield that, “The chair of the National Cotton Council says disaster assistance for farmers will be included in the new jobs creation bill in Congress.
“Eddie Smith says little is known about the proposal, but speculates it could look much like earlier offerings—most likely tied to a disaster declaration by the Secretary of Agriculture, with producers receiving a payment similar to a direct payment. They would have to prove an economic loss of five percent for at least one crop of economic significance.”

From Farm Policy today.  A five percent loss is well within the natural volatility of agriculture.  The only thing which might, I say "might", make this halfway, or a quarter way reasonable is if the yields being used are still frozen from the mid-90's.  They might be, I've lost track and am too lazy to check.