# Agricultural Disaster and Market Assistance > Briefs, arguments, decisions, and more. URL: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/documents/fr%3A00-13934 ## Record - **Collection:** Federal Register - **Document type:** Rule - **Published:** June 8, 2000 - **Citation:** 65 FR 36550 ## Text DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Commodity Credit Corporation 7 CFR Parts 1400, 1411, 1427, 1439, 1464, 1479 RIN 0560-AG14 Agricultural Disaster and Market Assistance AGENCY: Commodity Credit Corporation, USDA. ACTION: Interim rule and final rule. SUMMARY: This rule implements agricultural disaster and market assistance provisions of the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2000 and the Omnibus Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2000. It will implement statutory provisions related to cottonseed market loss, a competitiveness program for extra long staple (ELS) cotton, warehouse-stored tobacco loss assistance, pasture recovery, oilseeds marketing loss, livestock disaster assistance for contract growers and emergency assistance for Harney County, Oregon. It will also define the base quality for upland cotton, finalize existing regulations for the Livestock Indemnity and American Indian Livestock Feed Programs and reorganize all of the Emergency Livestock Assistance regulations to remove obsolete regulations. Certain provisions of this rule will be implemented as interim rules and others as final rules. See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for details. DATES: This rule is effective June 1, 2000, except for the amendments to § 1427.25, which is effective August 1, 2000. Comments on the provisions of this interim rule related to cottonseed assistance, the competitiveness program for ELS cotton, and flood assistance for Harney County, Oregon must be received by July 10, 2000 to be assured of consideration. Comments on the information collections for these programs must be received by August 7, 2000. ADDRESSES: Comments on the regulations should be sent to: Tom Witzig, Chief, Regulatory Review and Foreign Investment Disclosure Branch, Farm Service Agency (FSA), U.S. Department of Agriculture, STOP 0540, 1400 Independence Ave., SW, Washington, DC, 20250-0540, telephone (202)205-5851, or by e-mail to: tom_witzig@wdc.fsa.usda.gov. Comments can be inspected in Room 6734 South Building, Washington, DC, between 7:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, except holidays. Comments on the information collection should be sent to the Desk Officer for Agriculture, Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, Washington, D.C. 20503 and to Tom Witzig at the address above. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tom Witzig, Chief, Regulatory Review and Foreign Investment Disclosure Branch, FSA, USDA, STOP 0540, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, D.C. 20250-0540, Telephone: (202) 205-5851; e-mail: tom_witzig@wdc.fsa.wdc.gov. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Notice and Comment Section 824 of Pub. L. 106-78 requires that the regulations necessary to implement Title VIII, Subtitle A of Pub. L. 106-78 be issued as soon as practicable and without regard to the notice and comment provisions of 5 U.S.C. 553, or the Statement of Policy of the Secretary of Agriculture (the Secretary) effective July 24, 1971 (36 FR 13804) relating to notices of proposed rulemaking and public participation in rulemaking, or the Paperwork Reduction Act. The provisions of this interim rule related to tobacco warehouse assistance, pasture recovery, oilseeds assistance, and livestock assistance for contract growers implement provisions of Subtitle A and thus are issued as final and are effective immediately. The provisions of this interim rule related to the Livestock Indemnity and the American Indian Livestock Feed Programs finalize regulations for which interim rules were previously issued and are thus issued as final. The public comments to those interim rules are addressed in the Background section of this rule. The provisions of this interim rule related to 7 CFR 1400 and 7 CFR 1427.25 are simply technical amendments to clarify the existing regulations for consistent and efficient administration and are thus issued as final. The provisions of this interim rule related to the reorganization of 7 CFR 1439, Emergency Livestock Assistance, simply remove obsolete regulations and are thus issued as final. The provisions of this interim rule related to cottonseed assistance, the competitiveness program for ELS cotton, and flood assistance for Harney County, Oregon are not exempt from the notice and comment requirements, and are issued as interim rules, effective immediately, but public comments are requested and will be considered before the regulations are issued as final. Comments on the provisions of this interim rule related to cottonseed assistance, the competitiveness program for ELS cotton, and flood assistance for Harney County, Oregon must be received by July 10, 2000 to be assured of consideration. Comments on the information collections for these programs must be received by August 7, 2000. Executive Order 12866 This final rule is issued in conformance with Executive Order 12866 and has been determined to be economically significant and has been reviewed by the Office of Management and Budget. A cost-benefit assessment was completed and is summarized after the background section explaining the actions this rule will take. Federal Assistance Programs The titles and numbers of the Federal assistance programs, as found in the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance, to which this final rule applies are: Commodity Loan Deficiency Payments—10.051; Production Flexibility Payments for Contract Commodities—10.055; Conservation Reserve Program—10.069, Disaster Reserve Assistance—10.452. Regulatory Flexibility Act It has been determined that the Regulatory Flexibility Act is not applicable to this rule because USDA is not required by 5 U.S.C. 553 or any other provision of law to publish a notice of proposed rulemaking with respect to the subject matter of this rule. Environmental Evaluation It has been determined by an environmental evaluation that this action will have no significant impact on the quality of the human environment. Therefore, neither an environmental assessment nor an Environmental Impact Statement is needed. Executive Order 12372 This program is not subject to the provisions of Executive Order 12372, which require intergovernmental consultation with State and local officials. See the notice related to 7 CFR part 3015, subpart V, published at 48 FR 29115 (June 24, 1983). Unfunded Mandates The provisions of Title II of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 are not applicable to this rule because the USDA is not required by 5 U.S.C. 553 or any other provision of law to publish a notice of proposed rulemaking with respect to the subject matter of this rule. Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996 Section 824 of Pub. L. 106-78 requires that the regulations necessary to implement Title VIII, Subtitle A of Pub. L. 106-78 be issued as soon as practicable and without regard to the notice and comment provisions of 5 U.S.C. 553 or the Statement of Policy of the Secretary of Agriculture effective July 24, 1971 (36 FR 13804) relating to notices of proposed rulemaking and public participation in rulemaking. It also requires that the Secretary use the provisions of 5 U.S.C. 808 (the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act (SBREFA)), which provides that a rule may take effect at such time as the agency may determine if the agency finds for good cause that public notice is impracticable, unnecessary, or contrary to the public purpose, and thus does not have to meet the requirements of § 801 of SBREFA requiring a 60-day delay for Congressional review of a major regulation before the regulation can go into effect. This interim rule is considered a major rule for the purposes of SBREFA. However, the regulations for tobacco warehouse assistance, pasture recovery, oilseeds assistance, and livestock assistance for contract growers implement provisions of Subtitle A of Pub. L. 106-78. These regulations affect the incomes of a large number of agricultural producers who have been hit hard by natural disasters and poor market conditions. Accordingly, because it would be contrary to the public interest to delay those provisions of this rule, as expressed in Pub. L. 106-78, they are issued as final and are effective immediately. The provisions of this interim rule for cottonseed assistance, the competitiveness program for ELS cotton, and flood assistance for Harney County, Oregon are not exempt from the notice and comment or the Congressional Review requirements. With respect to these items, for which public comment will be sought, it has been determined that the new regulations should be made effective immediately as in each one of the cases further delay in making benefits available would delay legislated emergency relief. In the case of the provision for extra long staple cotton, the rule merely codifies a statutory formula for relief. In the case of cottonseed payments, the rule will allow recovery in a timely manner for damages that have already been suffered, as will also be the case with the relief provide for Harney County producers. The new regulations, however, are flexible enough to allow the agency to suspend the new provisions for these three new programs in the event that cause for doing so should appear in the comments. In the meantime, however, should no such cause appear, making the regulations effective will allow the regulations to proceed to be used to provide what could be much needed and timely relief for the parties involved, just as relief for others has been provided through a number of other new programs provided for in recent legislation. Likewise, with respect to the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act (SBREFA), which allows for a pre-issuance Congressional review period for some rules, it has been determined that this rule should be made effective immediately on all of its provisions as a delay in implementing the rule would be impracticable and contrary to the public interest. Paperwork Reduction Act Section 824 of Pub. L. 106-78 requires that the regulations implementing the provisions of Subtitle A, Title VIII of Pub. L. 106-78 are to be promulgated without regard to the Paperwork Reduction Act. This means that the normal 60-day public comment period and OMB approval of the information collections required by this rule are not required before the regulations may be made effective. However, the 60-day public comment period and OMB approval under the provisions of 44 U.S.C. chapter 35 are still required after the rule is published. The provisions of this rule that are not mandated by Subtitle A are subject to the normal requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act. Those provisions are cottonseed assistance, the competitiveness program for ELS cotton, and flood assistance for Harney County, Oregon. Information Collection Packages and requests for emergency approval for those provisions have been submitted to OMB and are summarized as follows:. Title: Emergency Assistance for Harney County, Oregon (7 CFR part 1478) OMB Control Number: 0560-NEW Type of Request: Approval of a new information collection. Abstract: Emergency Assistance for Harney County, Oregon is authorized under H.R. 3194, P.L. 106-113 (113 Stat. 1501). To determine benefits due to eligible producers requesting assistance in accordance with regulations, FSA proposes to use the CCC-454 (Flood Compensation Program). The CCC-454 will be used to document the verification of loss of production because of flooding in 1999. Estimate of Burden: Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 2 hours per producer. Respondents: Producers of Harney County, Oregon Estimated Number of Respondents: 40 Estimated Number of Responses per Respondents: 1 Estimated Total Annual Burden on Respondents: 80 hours Copies of the information collection may be obtained from Helen Smith, USDA-FSA-PECD, 1400 Independence Avenue, S.W., STOP 0517, Washington, D.C. 20250-0515: Telephone (202) 720-7954 or e-mail helen_smith@wdc.fsa.usda.gov. Title: Cottonseed Payment Program Application/Certification OMB Control Number: 0560-NEW Type of Request: Approval of a new information collection. Abstract: This new collection instrument is the application and certification form to be used by cotton gins to request payments under the Cottonseed Payment Program. The information requested will be used to determine the national payment rate and to compute individual program payment amounts for each applicant. Estimate of Burden: Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 40 minutes per producer. Respondents: Cotton Gins Estimated Number of Respondents: 1,100 Estimated Number of Responses per Respondent: 1 Estimated Total Annual Burden on Respondents: 733 hours Copies of the information collection may be obtained from Gene Rosera, USDA-FSA-PSD, 1400 Independence Avenue, S.W., STOP 0512, Washington, D.C. 20250: Telephone (202) 720-8481 or e-mail gene_rosera@wdc.fsa.usda.gov. Title: ELS Cotton Competitiveness Payment Program OMB Control Number: 0560-NEW Type of Request: Approval of a new information collection Abstract: This collection will enroll Extra Long Staple (ELS) cotton exports and textile manufacturers in the ELS Cotton Competitiveness Payment Program and allow them to report their activity with respect to ELS cotton so that proper payments can be made to them. The ELS competitive payment program was authorized by the Consolidated Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2000, Pub.L. 106-113, and was mandated to begin October 1, 1999. A method has been devised to determine each Tuesday whether a payment should be made during the following Wednesday-through-Tuesday week and rate per pound of any payment. In the period since October 1, 1999, were triggered only during the period April 4, 2000, through May 2, 2000. Clearance of CCC-1045A (ELS Cotton Exporter/Domestic User Agreement) would facilitate enrollment of the exporters and textile manufacturing firms who wish to participate. Estimate of Burden: Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 30 sminutes per respondent. Respondents: Cotton Exports and Textile Manufacturers Estimated Number of Respondents: 40 Estimated Number of Responses per Respondents: 58 Estimated Total Annual Burden on Respondents: 780 hours Copies of the information collection may be obtained from Wayne Bjorlie, USDA-FSA-EPAS, 1400 Independence Avenue, S.W., STOP 0515, Washington, D.C. 20250-0515: Telephone (202) 720-7954 or e-mail wayne_bjorlie@wdc.fsa.usda.gov. Proposed topics for comments for each of the three information collections are: (a) whether the collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, including whether the information will have practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of burden including the validity of the methodology and assumptions used; (c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; or (d) ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on those who are to respond, including the use of appropriate automated, electronic, mechanical or other technological collection techniques or other forms of information technology. Comments should be sent to the Desk Officer for Agriculture, Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, Washington, D.C. 20503 and to Tom Witzig, USDA-FSA-ORAS, 1400 Independence Avenue, S.W., STOP 0540, Washington, D.C. 20250-0540: Telephone (202) 205-5851 or e-mail tom_witzig@wdc.fsa.usda.gov. Background This rule will implement requirements of the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2000, (Pub. L. 106-78), and the Omnibus Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2000 (Pub. L. 106-113) related to agricultural disaster and market assistance for agricultural producers. It will also implement several other provisions of those and other Acts that are related to but not in themselves crop or market loss assistance provisions. Crop and market assistance provisions of the Acts that are being implemented are the Cottonseed Market Loss Assistance Program, the competitiveness program for ELS cotton, Warehouse-Stored Tobacco Loss Assistance, the Pasture Recovery Program, the Oilseeds Program, emergency assistance for Harney County, Oregon, and livestock assistance for contract growers. This rule will also finalize the existing regulations for the Livestock Indemnity and American Indian Livestock Feed Programs, reorganize 7 CFR 1439, Livestock Disaster Assistance, and make clarifying amendments to 7 CFR 1400. Descriptions of this rule's provisions follow. 1. 7 CFR Part 1400—Payment Limitation and Payment Eligibility Amendments are being made to 7 CFR part 1400 to supplement and clarify the existing regulations for consistent and efficient administration. The revisions are not considered significant in that no additional requirements are imposed upon the producers and no additional responsibilities are placed on the Farm Service Agency or USDA to administer the provisions of this part. The table in § 1400.1(g) is being amended to include the applicable limitation on cost-share payments for conservation practices under the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP). Section 1400.2 is being amended to include the requirement that all necessary forms be submitted and applicable determinations made before any payments can be issued for the programs subject to this part. The section is further amended to include a provision for the review of the applicable forms and information submitted by producers for the determination of compliance with this part. 2. 7 CFR Part 1411—Oilseeds Program Section 804 of Pub. L. 106-78 provides generally that the Secretary shall use $475 million of funds of the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) to make payments to producers of the 1999 crop of oilseeds who are eligible to obtain a marketing assistance loan under § 131 of the Agricultural Market Transition Act (7 U.S.C. 7231). Section 804 further provides that a payment to producers on a farm under that section for an oilseed shall be equal to the product obtained by multiplying (1) the payment rate determined by the Secretary, by (2) the acreage of the producers on the farm for the oilseed, as determined under the statute, by (3) the producers' yield for the oilseed, as determined under the statute. With respect to acreage, the statute provided generally that the payment acreage of the producers on the farm for an oilseed shall be equal to the greater of (1) the number of acres planted to the oilseed by the producers on the farm during the 1997 crop year, as reported by the producers on the farm to the Secretary (including any acreage reports that are filed late), or (2) the number of acres planted to the oilseed by the producers on the farm during the 1998 crop year, as reported by the producers on the farm to the Secretary (including any acreage reports that are filed late). As an exception, however, the statute provides that in the case of producers on a farm that planted acreage to an oilseed during the 1999 crop year but did not plant that oilseed in the 1997 or 1998 crop years, the acreage of such “new” producers for that oilseed shall be equal to the number of acres planted to the oilseed by the producers on the farm during the 1999 crop year, as reported by the producers on the farm to the Secretary (including any acreage reports that are filed late). With respect to yield, the statute provides that in the case of soybeans, the yield of established eligible producers (those with 1999 production and production in 1997 or 1998) on a farm shall be equal to the greatest of (1) the average county yield per harvested acre for each of the 1994 through 1998 crop years, excluding the crop year with the highest yield per harvested acre and the crop year with the lowest yield per harvested acre, (2) the actual yield of the producer for the 1997 crop year; or (3) the actual yield of the producer for the 1998 crop year. For other oilseeds the statute provides that the yield of established producers shall be equal to the greatest of (1) the average national yield per harvested acre for each of the 1994 through 1998 crop years, excluding the crop year with the highest yield per harvested acre and the crop year with the lowest yield per harvested acre, (2) the actual yield of the producer for the 1997 crop year; or (3) the actual yield of the producer for the 1998 crop year. For new producers, for all oilseeds, the statute provides that the yield will be the greater of (1) the average county yield per harvested acre for each of the 1994 through 1998 crop years, excluding the crop year with the highest yield per harvested acre and the crop year with the lowest yield per harvested acre; or (2) the actual yield of the producers on the farm for the 1999 crop. Finally, the statute provides that to the maximum extent available, the Secretary shall use data provided by the National Agricultural Statistics Service to carry out the new program. As provided in the legislation, only those producers who planted an eligible oilseed for the 1999 crop year will be eligible for benefits under this program and no more than $475 million may be expended, subject further to such administrative deductions as may apply. Benefits will be determined by multiplying the eligible producer's payment acreage times the applicable yield by the applicable payment rate. The final payment rate will be determined by the Secretary after the sign-up period, to allow the Secretary to establish a rate that will limit total payments to not more than the allocated amount. Because proration can only be made if all claims are made in a timely fashion, no late-filed applications will be permitted. Deadlines will be announced by press release and information about the program will be available at local Farm Service Agency offices. If the producer is considered to be a “new” producer, the producer's qualifying acreage will be all acreage planted by the producer on all farms in which the producer has an interest for the 1999 crop, adjusted to reflect partial interests where there is more than one producer on the same acreage. If the producer is considered to be an “established” producer, the acreage, similarly adjusted for partial interests, will be the producer's highest acreage use in 1997 or 1998 at all locations for that oilseed. In all cases, however, for all oilseeds, the producer, in order to be eligible for payment, must have actually planted that particular oilseed for the 1999 crop year. Producers are eligible to receive payments on more than one oilseed so long as the producer shared in the production of each such oilseed for the 1999 crop year. A producer is considered to be a new producer of an oilseed if the producer shared in the production of the oilseed for the 1999 crop year, but did not share in the production of the oilseed on any farm for the 1998 or 1997 crop years. The producer is not considered to be a new producer of an oilseed if the producer shared in the production of an oilseed on any farm in which the producer had an interest in the 1999 crop year, and shared in the production of that specific oilseed in either or both of the 1998 or 1997 crop years. Acreage not planted to an oilseed crop, even if that acreage was approved as acreage for prevented-planting credit for some other purpose (that is, was acreage on which planting was prevented by circumstances beyond the producer's control, so called “prevented-planting acreage”) does not qualify for any benefit calculation under this new program. That is, that acreage will not qualify the producer for a payment. With respect to yields, the Secretary will announce average soybean yields for each county, and, for minor oilseeds, a national average yield will be announced. Producers may substitute actual yields for average yields and, if subject to a spot check, shall document oilseed disposition on FSA-658 for all planted acres for the year in question or by providing RMA documentation with proven yield information for all of the planted acres in question. All documentation must be approved by the county committee. New producers may receive an oilseed payment based on the higher of the applicable average yield of the control county for soybeans or national average yield for all other eligible oilseeds, or the producer's actual yield for all acreage for the 1999 crop year (if established to the county committee's satisfaction). An oilseed producer who is not a new producer may receive an oilseed payment based on the higher of the applicable average yield for the producer's control county, for soybeans or national average yield for all other eligible oilseeds, or the higher actual yield for all the producer's planted acreage of the oilseed for either the 1997 or 1998 crop year (regardless of which of those two years was used to set the qualifying acreage). As provided for in the statute, producers are entitled to receive a payment amount equal to the result of multiplying the payment acreage, times the payment yield, times the final payment rate determined by the Secretary. All persons must meet all eligibility requirements and must, to receive payments, be in compliance with the provisions for highly-erodible land, wetland conservation, and with those regarding controlled substances that are found in 7 CFR part 12 and 7 CFR 718.11. Additionally, a producer who is determined to have intentionally misrepresented any fact affecting a program determination will not be entitled to oilseed payments and must refund all payments, plus interest, and be subject to such other remedies as may be allowed by law. While the statute involved may be open to several interpretations on significant questions, these rules are intended to provide for an efficient administration of the program consistent with the provisions of the statute itself. Thus, for example, while the references in the legislation to producers “on a farm” could suggest that the program was to be interpreted as allowing producers to qualify separately farm-by-farm, rather than qualify on the basis of all farms in which they have an interest, such an interpretation would produce a windfall for some producers (at the expense of other producers) and would not seem to be consistent with the intent of the statute to have producers share in the program based on actual production levels. That is, while there are references in the statute to “producers on the farm” the statute does not itself specify that the calculation of production history will be limited to what the producer produced on a particular farm. There is a chance for a windfall with a different interpretation in that if a farmer produced soybeans for 1997 and 1998 on two different farms in rotation or otherwise, that farm would be able to receive a double benefit if the producer could qualify for benefits for each farm separately. Such a doubling of benefit would be to the detriment of other soybean producers who are to share in the finite amount of money available for the program, including those that maybe have grown an equal amount of soybeans in 1997 and 1998 but did so on the same “farm.” Also, with respect to yields for new producers of oilseeds other than soybeans, the statute does call for using a county average yield if the producer cannot prove a higher yield. However, because county data for these other oilseeds is limited, so as to raise doubts about its reliability, national average data will be considered to establish the county yield for these oilseeds unless there is adequate proof of a county yield to the contrary, as determined by the local county committee with State Committee approval. Also, this rule contains a special rule with respect to powers of attorney. In those instances in which, prior to the issuance of this regulation, a producer has signed a power of attorney on an approved FSA form FSA-211 for a person or entity indicating that such power shall extend to “all above programs”, without limitation, such power will be considered to extend to this program unless within 14 days of the issuance of this regulation the person granting the power shall notify the local FSA office that the grantee of the power is not authorized to handle transactions for this program for the grantor. This will allow payments to be made quickly and efficiently while also allowing a mechanism for the grantor of the power to make program decisions directly. 3. 7 CFR Part 1427—Cottonseed Payment and Extra Long Staple Cotton Competitiveness Payment Programs and Definition of Base Quality for Upland Cotton A. Cottonseed Market Assistance Section 104(a) of Pub. L. 106-113 provides authority for the Secretary to provide assistance to producers or first handlers of the 1999 crop of cottonseed. This authority is being used to implement a new program because of the continuing low prices of cottonseed that, in some cases, have been passed along to cotton producers in the form of increased ginning fees. Specifically, in Pub. L. 106-113, Congress provided that of the funds made available under § 802 of Pub. L. 106-78 that were not otherwise needed to fully implement that section, the Secretary may use up to $4.7 million to carry out title IX of Pub. L. 106-78. Further, however, Congress provided that of the funds made available under § 802 of Pub. L. 106-78 (excluding any funds authorized by to carry out title IX of Pub. L. 106-78) and under § 1111 of Pub. L. 105-277 not otherwise needed to fully implement those sections, the Secretary may provide assistance to producers or first-handlers for the 1999 crop of cottonseed. Both of those sections provided for market loss assistance through the making of supplemental payments to person with contracts under the Production Flexibility Contract program operated by the Department. Finally, in this respect the Congress provided that if any funds remained, the Secretary could use the funds to provide for a new program for extra long staple cotton, which is addressed later in this rule. Consistent with the legislation, funding for the cottonseed program is provided from a portion of the residual funds authorized for Pub. L. 106-78 and Pub. L. 105-277. Because outlays for this program will be limited to a fixed amount, all payments will be made only after the total eligible quantity of cottonseed can be determined from approved applications. The major provisions of this program are as follows. CCC will announce an application period during which U.S. cotton gins may apply for cottonseed payments based on the number of bales of cotton and weight of lint ginned from the 1999 cotton crop. At the close of the application period, based on the number of bales for which payment is requested, CCC will estimate the total national quantity of cottonseed for payment. The payment rate per ton of cottonseed and payments to applicants will then be determined based on total available program funds. The resulting payments to cotton gins will not be subject to any per-person payment limitation. Applicants must agree to share any payment received with the producer of the cotton that was the basis of the payment to the extent that the effect of low cottonseed prices was borne by the producer rather than the gin. To the extent such funds will go to individual producers, those funds will be considered to have been received by the applicant on behalf of such producers. The recourse for producers dissatisfied with the distribution by the gin will be to make use of whatever private civil remedies they may possess against the gin. This distribution has been settled upon in light of the impossibility of making timely, reasonable, and effective individual determinations for each gin and each bale of cotton as to how the effect of cottonseed prices was actually distributed. This is consistent with the precise wording of the statute, which appears to contemplate a distribution to gins alone. In that regard, the statute allows for payments to gins “or” producers, rather than to gins “and” producers. B. Extra Long Staple Cotton Competitiveness Payment Program As indicated above, Congress authorized the use of a particular source of funds for a cottonseed program and allowed any remaining funds to be used for a new program for extra long staple cotton. Specifically, within those limits, Congress provided for this new program by adding a new section, 136A, to the Agricultural Market Transition Act. That new section specifies that, within funding limits, notwithstanding any other provision of law, during the period beginning October 1, 1999, and ending July 31, 2003, the Secretary shall carry out a program to maintain and expand the domestic use of extra long staple cotton produced in the United States, to increase exports of extra long staple cotton produced in the United States, and to ensure that extra long staple cotton produced in the United States remains competitive in world markets. Under the program, the statute provides, the Secretary shall make payments available whenever (1) for a consecutive 4-week period, the world market price for the lowest priced competing growth of extra long staple cotton (adjusted to United States quality and location and for other factors affecting the competitiveness of such cotton), as determined by the Secretary, is below the prevailing United States price for a competing growth of extra long staple cotton; and (2) the lowest-priced competing growth of extra long staple cotton (adjusted to United States quality and location), as determined by the Secretary, is less than 134 percent of the loan rate for extra long staple cotton. Further, § 136 provides that the Secretary shall make payments available under this section to domestic users of extra long staple cotton produced in the United States and exporters of extra long staple cotton produced in the United States who enter into an agreement with CCC to participate in the program. Payments are, by the statute, to be based on the amount of the difference in the prices as determined for the last week of the qualifying period multiplied by the amount of documented purchases by domestic users and sales for export by exporters made in the week following such 4-week period. Finally, the statute provides payments shall be made through the issuance of cash or marketing certificates, at the option of eligible recipients of the payments. As set out in the statute and as implemented in the regulations provided for in this rule, the program is designed so that payments would trigger in response to a deterioration in the competitive position of U.S.-grown ELS cotton in relation to foreign ELS cotton growths. If non-U.S. prices move sufficiently lower, or if U.S. spot prices move sufficiently higher, payments to exporters of U.S.-grown ELS cotton would be triggered after four weeks during which the U.S. spot price for a specific quality of ELS cotton exceeds the lowest adjusted foreign price quotation for a comparable quality. Exporters then would receive the payment on every eligible bale shipped while the program is triggered. U.S. domestic mills also would receive the payment on every eligible bale of U.S.-grown ELS cotton opened during that time. C. Definition of Base Quality for Upland Cotton A base quality for upland cotton must be defined so that a bale of upland cotton showing any deviation from the base quality may be properly valued for purpose of determining a loan rate under the marketing assistance loan program for upland cotton. In an effort to improve the quality of American raw cotton for spinning, the cotton industry recommended a redefinition of base fiber strength and the introduction of the length uniformity percentage for purposes of the marketing loan. The regulation at 7 CFR 1427.25 is being revised to conform to the schedule of loan premiums and discounts for the 2000 crop. Beginning August 1, 2000, the definition of base strength will be changed and a definition of base length uniformity will be introduced. The changes bring the regulation and the loan schedule back into balance, reestablishing the base quality at zero premium/discount so that no additional program cost will result. 4. 7 CFR Part 1439—Emergency Livestock Assistance A. Pasture Recovery Program Section 805 of Pub. L. 106-78 provides that the Secretary shall use $325 million of CCC funds to provide assistance directly to livestock and dairy producers, in a manner determined appropriate by the Secretary, to compensate the producers for economic losses incurred during 1999. Further, in § 825 of the same legislation Congress provided that of the funds provided in §§ 801 and 805 of that Act, no less than $200 million in assistance would be required to be made in the form of assistance to livestock producers for losses due to drought or other natural disasters. In § 801 of that Act, Congress, without limitation to particular kinds of production, authorized the use of $1.2 billion in Commodity Credit Corporation funds to make emergency financial assistance available to producers on farms that have incurred losses in a 1999 crop due to a disaster, as determined by the Secretary. Pub. L. 106-113 appropriated an additional $186 million to the sum provided for in § 801 of Pub. L. 106-113. Pursuant to the authority contained in Pub. L. No. 106-78, new Livestock Indemnity and Livestock Assistance Programs for losses incurred during 1999 were provided for in an omnibus rule published on February 16, 2000 (65 FR 7942). However, it has been further decided that additional relief should be provided for livestock interests under the authority contained in Pub. L. 106-78. To that end, this rule uses the authorities set forth above to provide for a new Pasture Recovery Program (PRP) that is to be included in 7 CFR part 1439 and will provide payments to owners and operators of pasture land on which livestock is normally grazed who suffered pasture losses due to drought during calendar year 1999. Eligible producers must agree to reestablish the forage crop and maintain the crop for three full years after the calendar year of installation. PRP payments will be authorized only in counties determined eligible for the most recent Livestock Assistance Program and approved for assistance for 1999 losses due to drought under the Emergency Conservation Program that is provided for in 7 CFR part 701. For the land to be eligible, it must be established pasture land on which livestock is normally grazed but that was so damaged or destroyed by drought or related conditions that seeding is required to reestablish a cover. Hayland and rangeland will not be eligible, nor will land operated by the Federal or a State Government or a political subdivisions of a State. To be an eligible recipient of program benefits, the applicant must be an owner or operator of eligible land damaged or destroyed in 1999 who normally grazes livestock on such land and such applicant must be the person who will restore and maintain the property for three full years after the calendar year of installation. All conditions must be satisfied if a person is to be eligible for a PRP payment. For example, if an owner leases pasture land to an operator for grazing the operator's livestock, then the operator is eligible for a PRP payment only if the operator reestablishes the forage crop on the leased pasture land and has a lease and the equipment necessary to maintain the forage crop for one full year after the calendar year of installation. If an owner leases pasture land to an operator who normally grazes the operator's livestock but the owner agrees to reestablish the forage crop on the pasture land, then neither the operator nor the owner are eligible for PRP benefits because neither can meet all of the eligibility requirements. The owner is ineligible because the owner does not normally graze livestock on the pasture land, and the operator is ineligible because the operator did not reestablish the forage crop on the pasture land. Other restrictions will apply as well in the administration of the program. Among them, the land must be in a county that was approved for participation in the 1999 Livestock Assistance Program (LAP), which was provided for by a rule published on February 16, 2000, and that county must have had a 120-day payment period for purposes of the 1999 LAP. Further, the county in which the land is located must be a county that, based on 1999 drought-induced losses, was approved for participation in the Emergency Conservation Program (ECP) by virtue of an application submitted prior to March 1, 2000. The ECP is provided for in 7 CFR part 701. This program will be subject to the general provisions for emergency livestock assistance programs found in what will now be Subpart A of part 1439. That subpart is republished in this rule. That subpart provides for limitations on payments that are effectively adopted in this rule by not exempting the PRP from those provisions. In addition limits on payments are provided in the rules themselves. Accordingly, and in order to efficiently maximize the use of program funds for those farmers most in need of relief, this new program, like others in part 1439, will not be available to a person whose annual gross revenue is in excess of $2.5 million. Further, however, benefits are limited to $2,500 per “person” determined according to the “person” determination regulations at 7 CFR part 1400 applicable to a number of other USDA programs. In order to receive payments, applicants will be required to certify that pasture land to be enrolled in the PRP was so damaged or destroyed by drought or related conditions during calendar year 1999 that seeding is required to reestablish the forage crop. State Farm Service Agency (FSA) committees will establish per-acre payment rates equal to 50 percent of the eligible area's average cost of reestablishing the approved forage crop on eligible pasture land not to exceed $75 per acre. The FSA Deputy Administrator for Farm Programs may approve higher per-acre payment rates not to exceed $125 per acre. In no case will per-acre payment rates exceed $125 per acre. Seeding and related fertilizing requirements will be required to be carried out according to standards for agronomic practices and applicable environmental laws and regulations. Payments may be issued upon certification by the participant that approved practices to reestablish the forage crop have been completed. Certifications are subject to spot check by FSA. Signup periods for this new program will be announced by CCC, but are expected to be conducted no later than the spring 2000 planting season for affected regions. It is expected that all seeding will be required to be completed in calendar year 2000 by a date announced by CCC. Because this new program is operated under authority contained in Pub. L. 106-78, it is subject to the exemptions from rulemaking and from the Paperwork Reduction Act that are contained in Pub. L. 106-78. B. Livestock Indemnity Program for Contract Growers Title I of Pub. L. 106-113 provided an additional $10 million for the livestock assistance authorized by § 805 of Pub. L. 106-78 and specified that this additional amount could be used to provide assistance to persons who raise livestock owned by other persons so as to provide relief for income losses sustained with respect to such livestock during 1999, if the Secretary finds that such losses are the result of natural disasters. In order to make use of that authority, a new subpart for 7 CFR part 1439 is provided for in this rule that will establish regulations for such relief. The new Livestock Indemnity Program for Contract Growers (CG-LIP) would provide benefits to eligible livestock producers who, due to a natural disaster in calendar year 1999, sustained a loss of income handling livestock in which they did not have an ownership interest. The loss must have been suffered in an area that was the subject of a Presidential or Secretarial disaster declaration. Producers in contiguous counties that were not designated as a disaster area are not eligible for benefits. Eligible livestock for purposes of the program are beef and dairy cattle, sheep, goats, swine, poultry (including egg-producing poultry), equine animals used for food or in the production of food, and buffalo and beefalo when maintained on the same basis as beef cattle. Such livestock must have been handled pursuant to a contract between the producer and owner. Applications for benefits must be submitted at the local county FSA office by May 1, 2000, or such other date as established by CCC. Livestock producers must provide adequate proof of loss and of the corresponding reduction in income. Subject to the availability of funds, payments shall be made in an amount determined by multiplying the national payment rate for the livestock category as determined by CCC by the qualifying loss. If the claims exceed the allotted funds, claims may be prorated or otherwise adjusted to account for the limited funds. For the same reasons as for the new Pasture Recovery Program, the $2.5 million gross revenue test will apply, as will a $40,000 per-person payment limit. FSA may, as needed, reduce benefits to avoid duplication with other programs and may exclude those claimants who were related to, or affiliated with the owners of the livestock so as to limit the program to those contract producers who were truly separate from the owners of the livestock and thus did not benefit directly or indirectly from other livestock programs, which were owner-focused. C. General Revision of 7 CFR Part 1439 This rule also finalizes other amendments recently made to part 1439. In a final rule published on March 19, 1999 (64 FR 13497), part 1439 was generally reorganized. Also, that rule provided for a new LAP program. Thereafter, an interim rule was published on August 31, 1999 (64 FR 47358), which provided for a new Flood Compensation Program (FCP). Likewise, the FCP was codified in part 1439. That rule was followed in turn by an interim rule published on November 1, 1999 (64 FR 58766), which provided for a new Livestock Indemnity Program. In the meantime, as indicated, Pub. L. 106-78 was enacted, which allowed for new relief for livestock interests and led to a new rule published on February 16, 2000 (65 FR 7942) that updated the LIP and LAP regulations so as to provide for the new LIP and LAP provisions. The March 19, 1999 rule reorganizing part 1439 took into account the existence of the regulations published on November 27, 1998 (63 FR 65524), creating, by an interim rule, the American Indian Livestock Feed Program (AILFP), but did not finalize those regulations. Hence, prior to this time, there have been three interim rules pending for part 1439: (1) The AILFP rule of November 27, 1998, (2) the FCP rule of August 31, 1999, and (3) the LIP rule of November 1, 1999. For all three interim rules, the comment periods are closed and those rules are made final in this rule. With respect to comments, none were received for the LIP and FCP rules. Accordingly, and on further review, no changes were needed in those regulations. For the AILFP two comments were received. First, the comments suggested that the benefits of the AILFP should not be limited to tribal-governed land but should include non-dependent lands that are now held by private persons but were formerly reservation. The AILFP is a very limited program with very limited funds. This comment was not adopted in light of the limited funds available and also because the limitations contained in the program reflected the sovereign-to-sovereign nature of this special program. Also, citing Executive Order No. 13804, § 3(b), a comment suggested that the tribes be compensated for their AILFP efforts. This comment was not adopted because the program is not a regulatory program but a voluntary program to which the Executive Order does not apply. Also, however, on reviewing the rule, it was determined that a definition of “dependent Indian community” should be added. Under the interim rule, a “dependent Indian community” is one of the categories of land that are considered under the rule to be “tribal governed land.” In this new rule, that phrase would be defined to mean a limited category of Indian lands that are neither reservations nor allotments and are found by FSA to be: (a) Land set aside by the Federal Government for the use of Indians as Indian land; and (b) under Federal superintendence. With respect to the FCP, as all claims in that program are past claims, there does not appear to be a good reason to republish the regulations. Hence, they are removed by this rule, though such removal will not affect any past, pending, or future claims under that program. Also, with respect to the AILFP regulations, a provision has been added to § 1439.902 so that the regulations for that program will, except for the change noted above, be the same as they were in substance despite the reorganization of part 1439. Also, for consolidation purposes, the LIP regulations have been renumbered. Conforming amendments to existing rules have also been added as needed to reflect the reorganization of part 1439. The language dealing with the application deadline for the 1999 LAP program was changed because of changed circumstances. Also at various places in the regulations provisions have been added to make explicit that nothing in the regulations will require expenditures for programs beyond that which is deemed appropriate by CCC with respect to overall funding levels, taking into account statutory limits. 5. 7 CFR Part 1464—Assistance for Losses of Certain Warehouse-Stored Tobacco Section 803 of Pub. L. 106-78 authorized the Secretary to use $328 million of CCC funds to make payments to States with tobacco producers whose 1999 poundage quotas or acreage allotments for tobacco were reduced from 1998 crop year levels due to a drop in the national marketing quote or poundage quota for their kind of tobacco. In addition, Pub. L. 106-78 made provision for a number of other programs, which were implemented by a final rule published in the Federal Register on February 16 (65 FR 7942). The provisions dealing with the $328 million for tobacco producers were codified at 7 CFR Part 1464, Subpart C. Those regulations call for the funds to be distributed by the individual States with qualifying persons. This follows the language of § 803, which basically calls for the distribution of the funds to be made in the same way that state trusts are making $5 billion available to tobacco growers using the so-called “Phase II” funds made available by tobacco companies. Section 803(c) of Pub. L. 106-78 defines those persons who were eligible to receive the tobacco payments as being those persons who own or operate, or produce tobacco on, a farm: (A) For which the quantity of quota allotted to the farm under part I of subtitle B of title III of the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938 (7 U.S.C. 1311 et seq. ) was reduced from the 1998 crop year to the 1999 crop year; and (B) that was used for the production of tobacco during the 1998 or 1999 crop year. As for the distribution of the funds and amounts, § 803 called for the funds to be distributed in the same way as the States were or are distributing the so-called “Phase II” funds made available by tobacco companies to producers through state trusts. While Pub. L. 106-78 was being considered there was a series of severe weather conditions in the flue-cured tobacco growing area of North Carolina. In particular, there were three hurricanes that hit in quick succession, leading to widespread flooding in that area. That flooding destroyed some 1999-crop tobacco that had been delivered to warehouses for sale by producers under the customary auction warehouse system. Some of this tobacco had not yet, however, been sold at auction and producers still held the risk of loss on that tobacco even though the tobacco had been harvested and thus was not eligible for coverage under the normal crop loss programs run by the Department. Subsequently, Pub. L. 106-113, provided an additional $2.8 million for tobacco assistance authorized by § 803(c)(1) of Pub. L. 106-78 and provided “that the definition of eligible persons in § 803(c)(2) of Pub. L. 106-78 shall include producers who have suffered quality or quantity losses due to natural disasters on crops harvested and placed in a warehouse and not sold.” The quoted language constitutes essentially the entirety of the statutory provision. Literally, the new language would only seem to simply add an additional amount to the $328 provided for in § 803 without, as such, changing the distribution method called for in § 803, and would seem to be limited to a technical adjustment of the eligibility definition contained in § 803(c)(3). However, the intent of the language seems clearly, instead, given the background set forth above and other factors, to provide relief to those flue-cured producers who had tobacco that was still theirs in the flooded warehouses but that was lost. This would follow from the nature of the language adopted, from the timing of the bill and from the amount allotted. The original $328 million roughly corresponded to a dollar per pound for all tobacco that met the eligibility criteria of the original legislation and the additional $2.8 million corresponds to roughly a dollar per pound for the amount of producer tobacco that internal Department assessments made prior to the passage of Pub. L. 106-113 indicated had been lost in flue-cured warehouses in North Carolina as the result of the three hurricanes. Damage of the kind covered by the legislation appears to be limited to North Carolina. Furthermore, simply adding to the definition of 803(c)(3) would not seem to be purposeful in and of itself if that addition was not meant to indicate a separate kind of payment, since, presumably all of the persons who lost tobacco in the warehouses during the natural disaster were persons who already met the definition in 803(c)(3). Rather, the addition only appears to make sense as a method of indicating a separate form of recovery for producers whose incomes for the tobaccos covered by § 803 were reduced by the warehouse disasters caused by the floods. Of the tobaccos covered in § 803 (those which, nationally, had reduced quotas or allotment for 1999), the only tobacco that appears to have had any sort of widespread 1999-crop loss in warehouses due to a natural disaster at or near the time that Pub. L. 106-113 enacted was flue-cured tobacco. In addition, there is a limited amount of funds made available by Pub. L. 106-113, and no payment formula is specified. Accordingly there is some discretion involved in deciding which claims to honor and how the funds will be distributed. Further, timely decision must be made about the distribution of the funds so that the universe of claims can be determined and the funds apportioned. To that end, this rule provides for the $2.8 million to be distributed directly by the Department and provides that, except as determined by the Deputy Administrator for Farm Program of the Farm Service Agency upon petition, payable only on flue-cured tobacco and only for those losses in North Carolina as a result of the recent hurricanes. Because material damage appears to be limited to North Carolina, normal signup will be limited to that State. However, there are references in the rule to the ability of persons to petition the Deputy Administrator for relief so as to provide the leeway necessary in the event that there are meritorious circumstances of which the Department is not aware that were widespread and that should be considered to assure that all claims are reviewed. In all cases, requests for relief must meet the deadlines provided for in the regulations that are published in this rule. 6. 7 CFR Part 1479—Flood Assistance for Harney County, Oregon In Pub. L. No. 106-113 Congress also provided that CCC could use up to $1.09 million of its funds to provide emergency assistance to producers on farms located in Harney County, Oregon, who suffered flood-related crop and forage losses in 1999 and several previous years and are expected to suffer continuing economic losses until the flood waters recede. Congress provided that any amounts made available should be for such losses for such years as determined appropriate by the Secretary to compensate such producers for hay, grain, and pasture losses due to the floods and for related economic losses. General regulations for programs of this type are provided for in 7 CFR part 1478, 1999 Crop Disaster Program, published on February 16, 2000 (65 FR 7942), which was a new part intended to allow for a single-year disaster program in accordance with Pub. L. 106-7. The regulations set out in this rule will provide for Harney County, in a new part, 7 CFR part 1479, compensation to producers whose land was not usable from January 1, 1999 through December 31, 1999. To be eligible for benefits, producers in Harney County, Oregon, must have owned or leased land that was intended to be used for crop or forage production or grazing during crop year 1999, and which was subject to flooding January 1, 1999, through December 31, 1999, and for which it is determined that due to flood-related losses, the land was unfit for crop or forage production, or grazing, at all times during CY 1999. Producers will be required to certify that the acreage was unable to be used due to flooding. In the new program, no “person”, as “person” is defined in the applicable regulations, will be able to receive over $40,000 in program payments and no person can receive any payment if that person's gross revenue for 1998 was in excess of $2.5 million. These limits will also insure the most efficient use of funds for the producers most in need. The applicant must be the owner or lessee of the affected property under a binding lease during the 1999 crop year, and must still be the owner or lessee of the land. Other restrictions apply as well, including a requirement that the land must have been unusable for at least one other crop year in the years 1994 though 1998, and must be land that actually produced a crop, or that was actually used for pasture, on or after 1990. Unadjusted payment rates will be based on the average local rental rates for crop land and pasture land, using, where possible, 5-year data of the National Agricultural Statistics Service. Cost-Benefit Assessment Summary Outlays under the programs implemented by this rule will total approximately $616.5 million, of which approximately $604 million will be direct payments to producers. The outlays for the Livestock Indemnity Program and the American Indian Livestock Feed Program, totaling $15.5 million, have, for the most part already been made, and therefore do not represent a new funding commitment. The table summarizes the outlays and the discussion following summarizes the Cost/Benefit Assessments for each program. Summary of Outlays Program Outlays Oilseeds Program 1 462.6 Cottonseed Payment Program 74.0 ELS Cotton Competitiveness Program 2 6.0 Pasture Recovery Program 3 40.0 Livestock Indemnity Program for Contract Growers 4 2.0 Finalization of Existing Livestock Regulations 5 15.5 Warehouse-Stored Tobacco Assistance 2.8 Harney Co., Ore. Emergency Assistance 1.09 Total 603.99 1 After administrative expenses of approximately $12.4 million. 2 Total of actual outlays up to May 4, 2000 and maximum expected outlays through September 30, 2000. 3 Reallocated from funding previously attributed to the 1999 Crop Disaster Program. 4 After administrative expenses of approximately $100,000. 5 Includes $3 million for LIP in FY 1999 and $12.5 million for AILFP for FY's 1997 and subsequent years. 1999 Oilseed Market Loss Assistance Program U.S. oilseed producers are experiencing serious financial hardship as a result of low oilseed prices. The farm-level market value of oilseed production has dropped substantially since the mid-1990's. In fact, the farm value of the 1999 U.S. oilseed crop was down an estimated $5 billion, or 27 percent from the previous 5-year high set in 1996, despite a 12-percent increase in production. Some producers have also had their financial problems exacerbated by isolated weather problems that reduced their 1999 production. Section 804 of Pub. L. 106-78 authorized the use of $475 million in Commodity Credit Corporation funds to assist oilseed producers suffering from reduced farm income as a result of large supplies and low prices. To be eligible for payments from these funds, a producer must have produced an oilseed in 1999 that is eligible to obtain a marketing assistance loan under § 131 of the Agricultural Market Transition Act (7 U.S.C. 7231). These oilseeds include: soybeans, safflower seed, canola, rapeseed, mustard seed, sunflower seed, flaxseed, and crambe. The payment rate determined by the Secretary must consider the number of eligible payment acres and payment yields as well as the fixed amount of Commodity Credit Corporation funds authorized by Congress for the Oilseed Program. Section 822 of Pub. L. 106-78 provides that the Secretary may reserve up to $56 million of the amounts made available under subtitle A to cover administrative costs incurred by the Farm Service Agency directly related to carrying out that subtitle. For the Oilseed Program the authorized amount of $475 million will be reduced by approximately $12.4 million to cover administrative costs. After accounting for administrative costs, direct payments to producers under the Oilseed Program are expected to total approximately $462.6 million. Of this total about $442.7 million (96 percent) is expected to go to soybean producers. The remaining $19.9 million will be split among the producers of the other minor oilseeds eligible for marketing assistance. Payments to producers of those oilseed are estimated to be $13.2 million for sunflower seed producers, $3.8 million for canola producers, $1.7 million for safflower producers, $938,923 for flaxseed producers, $172,471 for mustard seed producers, $112,990 for crambe producers, and $16,260 for rapeseed producers. Because assistance will be in the form of direct payments, the program is expected to result in a dollar-for-dollar increase in farm income for oilseed producers. Pre-enrollment estimates of per-unit payment rates are expected to be highest for safflower seed and mustard seed at 34 and 31 cents per hundredweight (cwt.), respectively. The lowest per unit rate is expected to be for flaxseed at 22 cents per cwt. (12 cents per bushel). The pre-enrollment estimate for the soybean payment rate is 24 cents per cwt. (14 cents per bushel). On a per-acre basis, the safflower seed payment will be highest among the various crops at $6.13 per acre. The pre-enrollment payment for soybeans is estimated at $5.92 per acre. For the remaining oilseeds, pre-enrollment estimates indicate that per-acre payments will range from a low of $2.55 for flaxseed to a high of $3.69 for rapeseed. Cottonseed Market Loss Assistance The cottonseed support payment program is designed to provide payments to cotton ginners in response to a severe decline in the price of cottonseed in the 1999 crop year. Throughout the Cotton Belt, in most years, the value of the cottonseed that is the by-product of the ginning process has been accepted by cotton ginners as payment in full for the cost of ginning seed cotton. Unless they are members of a co-operative gin (many are) or they own or are partners in a gin, farmers do not secure any benefit from the seed other than to have their ginning costs canceled. This season, the average price of cottonseed has dropped by about $48 per ton (37 percent) from the average level received last year, and about $36 per ton (31 percent) from the average of 1994 through 1998. In the 1999 season, cottonseed prices in many parts of the Cotton Belt do not cover the cost of ginning. Cottonseed prices this season equate to about $34 worth of seed per bale of cotton lint produced, on a national average. The national average ginning cost for 1999 is estimated at $46 per bale. Thus, the national average value of cottonseed falls about $12 short of the cost of ginning a bale of cotton. That is the equivalent of about 2.5 cents per pound of lint. For ginning services, some farmers are being asked to pay in cash to the ginner an additional 2 or 3 cents per pound of cotton lint beyond the value of the seed, while, in other cases, ginners are holding ginning bills until they see how this payment program will be implemented. The most viable option to assist cotton producers is a direct payment program in which payments are made to ginners. There are between 1,000 and 1,100 gins in the United States. About 25 percent of those are co-operatives. Another 50 percent are owned as corporations by farmers who gin their own and their neighbors' cotton. About 25 percent are independent gins. Thus, farmers have a direct interest in about 75 percent of the gins and can be expected to receive nearly the full benefit of payments made to the gins. In the other 25 percent of gins where farmers do not directly operate or share in the ownership of the gins, farmers still may be expected to receive a substantial portion of the program benefits because the gins may have held the ginning bills pending the implementation of this program, the gins may rebate to farmers any ginning bill already paid, or competition among gins may dictate that any payments beyond those needed to cover the shortfall in seed prices will be rebated to the gins customers. Funding for this program is provided from a portion of the residual funds authorized for Pub. L. 106-78 and Pub. L. 105-277. Approximately $74 million of those funds will be available for cottonseed payments for crop year 1999. This will allow payments of approximately $4 per bale of lint, or about 1 cent per lb. Extra Long Staple Cotton Competitiveness Program The program is designed so that payments trigger in response to a reduction in other world prices, as specified in the legislation. In the period since October 1, 1999, were triggered only during the period April 4, 2000, through May 2, 2000. It is not possible to predict whether there will be further reductions in foreign prices, nor how large they will be, nor how long they will last. There would be no theoretical maximum payment rate. However, during the 6-week period April 4, 2000, through May 2, 2000, in which payments were triggered, outlays were less than $1 million. For the remainder of FY 2000 (mid-May through September), the program could incur from $3 million to $5 million in outlays if there is no drastic change in price relationships currently being observed and if it operates every week until September 30. It is projected that ELS competitiveness payments could increase domestic use of American Pima cotton by about 5,000 bales (about 3 percent) per year and exports by 25,000 bales (about 6 percent) per year. This increase in disappearance could add about 2 cents to the average price of American Pima and reduce net lending costs to CCC by about $25 million. Farm receipts would rise by about $4 million for the 1999 crop. Funding for this program is provided from a portion of the residual funds authorized for Pub. L. 106-78 and Pub. L. 105-277. Approximately $10 million of those funds will be available for the ELS Cotton Competitiveness Payment Program. Pasture Recovery Program Weather-related disasters in calendar year 1999 exacerbated the financial crisis affecting the Nation's agricultural sector. Prolonged drought, predominantly in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, left livestock producers with destroyed or severely damaged pasture. The purpose of the Pasture Recovery Program (PRP) is to provide payments to owners and operators of pasture who suffered pasture losses due to drought in 1999 and who reestablish the forage crop on their pastures. Funds to reestablish pasture damaged by drought will be allocated from funds provided for crop and livestock loss assistance under Pub. L. 106-78 and Pub. L. 106-113 that otherwise would be committed to the Crop Disaster Program, the Livestock Assistance Program, or the Livestock Indemnity Program. PRP payments will be authorized only in counties determined eligible for the Livestock Assistance Program and approved for the Emergency Conservation Program. As of mid-January, 2000, about 400 counties met both of these requirements and about 30,000 producers had applied for the 1999 LAP. The funding level of $40 million will be met if slightly more than half of the 30,000 eligible producers receive the maximum payment of $2,500 per person. To be eligible, land must be established pasture land on which livestock are normally grazed and that was so damaged by drought that seeding is required to reestablish a cover crop. Neither hay land nor rangeland is eligible. Payment rates per acre will equal 50 percent of the eligible area's average cost of reestablishing the approved forage crop and are not to exceed $125 per acre. FSA's Deputy Administrator for Farm Programs must approve payment rates above $75 per acre. The cost to reestablish pastures is estimated to be between $100 and $250 per acre, depending on the tillage and fertilization rates required. Most are expected to fall between $100 and $150 per acre, which will allow producers a payment rate of $50-$75 per acre. At an average payment rate of $62.50 per acre and subject to the $2,500 limitation producers could reestablish pasture on a maximum of 40 acres. The Pasture Recovery Program will provide benefits to livestock producers who graze animals on land that has been damaged by drought. It will partially offset the cost of reestablishing a forage crop where cover has been destroyed, which will provide some reduction in soil erosion due to wind and water. Funding for the program will provide payments for livestock producers who have suffered losses due to drought. Payments will be reduced for some producers in some programs in order to provide payments under PRP. Some funding will be shifted from crop programs to livestock producers and some will be shifted from other livestock producers to those using pastures affected by drought. Livestock Indemnity Program for Contract Growers Contract livestock growers are eligible for assistance through the Livestock Indemnity Program for Contract Growers (CG-LIP) if livestock or poultry lost on the farm exceeds normal nationally-determined mortality rates, and if the livestock or poultry lost were on a farm in a region affected by a natural disaster between January 1, 1999, and December 31, 1999. The CG-LIP program will be administered in a manner similar to the 1999 LIP program for livestock owners. However, owing to the differing financial interests between the owners of livestock and poultry and contract growers of the lost livestock and poultry, payment rates will need to be adjusted to reflect the losses suffered by the contract growers. Generally, payment rates per animal lost for contract growers are expected to be less than for the livestock and poultry owners, reflecting the smaller per-animal investment (and loss) by contract growers. Contract growers will be paid on those losses exceeding normal mortality. Based on the numbers of livestock lost, claims are expected to be approximately $2 million, well short of the $10 million available. Consequently, it is unlikely that payments will be factored. On a sectoral basis, the payments represent a small fraction of the total value of livestock production. However, for those contract growers who actually suffered the losses, the impact on their equity and cash flow positions is significant. Indemnity payments will assist contract growers affected by the disaster in meeting their financial obligations for inputs used in the production of the lost livestock and poultry, replace lost income, and to service debt. It is assumed, in part as a result of the CG-LIP, that contract producers affected by the disaster would remain in business and rebuild their contract growing operations to their previous size. Finalization of Existing Regulations for the Livestock Indemnity Program and American Indian Livestock Feed Program The Livestock Indemnity Program (LIP) provides financial assistance to livestock producers who suffered significant financial losses due to natural disasters between May 2, 1998, and May 21, 1999. The impact of the indemnity payments on livestock and milk market prices and consumers is not expected to be measurable. Farm income was expected to be $3 million higher, equaling the amount of indemnity payments. Federal outlays would also increase by the indemnity payment of $3 million. For those producers who actually suffered the losses, the impact on their equity and cash flow positions is significant. Indemnity payments assist producers affected by the disaster in meeting their financial obligations for inputs used in the production of the lost livestock and to replace breeding stock. It is assumed, in part as a result of LIP, that producers affected by the disaster would remain in business and rebuild their foundation herds to their previous size. The American Indian Livestock Feed Program (AILFP) provides assistance to eligible livestock producers who have suffered significant loss of livestock feed production for 1997 and subsequent years. Theses funds will help eligible producers to meet financial obligations against feed stocks purchased to maintain livestock as a result of lost feed production. It is expected that up to 45,000 livestock producers will receive assistance and be able to maintain their herds. The impact of the program on livestock and feed prices is not expected to be measurable. Aggregate American Indian farm income losses will be somewhat reduced by AILFP payments. Federal outlays for the 1997 and subsequent crop years might total around $12.5 million, which will be funded from the Feed Grain Disaster Reserve. Warehouse-Stored Tobacco Loss Assistance During the late summer and early fall of 1999, three major hurricanes dropped an unprecedented amount of rain in North Carolina. A substantial amount of warehouse-stored tobacco was destroyed in the flooding that resulted. Some producers, because they had placed their tobacco in warehouses and it had not been sold, suffered flood losses to that tobacco. However, because the tobacco had been harvested and placed in a warehouse, those producers were not eligible for disaster assistance under FSA's normal crop-loss programs and the producers therefore incurred the entire financial burden of the loss. Pub. L. 106-113 appropriated an additional $2.8 million to the assistance authorized by § 803 of Pub. L. 106-78, which authorized the Secretary to use $328 million of CCC funds to make payments to States for the reduction of quota or acreage allotted farms from the 1998 crop year to the 1999 crop year, provided that producers who suffered quality or quantity losses due to natural disasters on crops harvested and placed in a warehouse and not sold shall also be eligible. The $2.8 million will assist quota holders and growers to roughly defray production costs for crops lost in crop year 1999 due to the flooding in auction warehouses. The Tobacco Disaster Assistance Program (TDAP) will pay producers approximately $1 for each pound of unsold 1999-crop tobacco lost to warehouses flooded by the hurricanes. Due to program provisions, producers may carry these unmarketed pounds over to crop year 2000. Most tobacco operations are small family-owned affairs. The tobacco program run by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, along with topological limitations, limit the size of the typical farm and substitutability of competing crops. Accordingly, there currently may be few alternatives for tobacco. With no crop alternatives and little diversification in tobacco-growing regions, cash from the tobacco crop is vital to these producers. To the extent that the $2.8 million payment to producers and quota-holders defrays tobacco production costs, the TDAP enhances solvency. The production short-fall caused by the flooding is expected to be made up in the following year. In the short-term, the cost to the government roughly equals the benefits to the producers. In the longer term, to the extent that these disaster payments protect producers from bankruptcy, there is a net benefit. Flood Assistance for Harney County, Oregon Pub. L. 106-113 provides that the Secretary may use no more than $1.09 million for disaster assistance to Harney County. High precipitation during the winter of 1998 and 1999 led to flooding in the areas around Harney Lake and Malheur Lake in Harney County, Oregon. Heavy flooding began in February 1999 and continued until June when snow pack runoff slowed. Such flooding can change the basic character of the land and render the land ineligible for other benefits or for enrollment in programs like the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP). Generalized conditions of that sort can produce tertiary effects in the local community and accordingly, problems such as those in Harney County have been the source of considerable attention and concern with respect to the exercise of discretionary authorities that may be available to the Secretary of Agriculture. The impact on ranches in Harney County has been a loss of approximately 43,000 acres of pasture, 11,000 acres of native grass hay, 200 acres of alfalfa hay, and 200 acres of barley that were prevented from being planted. Approximately forty producers in Harney County are expected to be eligible for the program. Assistance therefore will average about $25,000 each if total claims meet or exceed $1.09 million. The expected average is well below the per-person payment limit of $40,000. Assistance will be in addition to assistance provided under other FSA programs. For further information, the following individuals may be contacted regarding the different parts of the Cost/Benefit Assessment: Livestock and Pasture Recovery—Dan Colacicco, 202-720-6733 Cotton—Wayne Bjorlie, 202-720-7954 Cottonseed—Gene Rosera, 202-720-8481 Harney County, Oregon—Brad Karmen, 202-720-4635 Oilseeds—Phil Sronce, 202-720-2711 Tobacco—Dan Stevens, 202-720-5291 List of Subjects Part 1400 Agriculture, Grant programs—agriculture, Loan programs—agriculture, Price support programs, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements. Part 1411 Oilseeds, Production Flexibility Contracts. Part 1427 Cotton, Cottonseed, Loan programs/agriculture, Price support programs, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Warehouses. Part 1439 Animal feeds, Disaster assistance, Livestock, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements. Part 1464 Imports, Loan programs—agriculture, Price support programs, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Tobacco. Part 1479 Crop insurance, Disaster assistance, Floods, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements. For the reasons set out in the preamble, 7 CFR Chapter XIV is amended as set forth below. PART 1400—PAYMENT LIMITATION AND PAYMENT ELIGIBILITY 1. The authority citation continues to read as follows: Authority: 7 U.S.C. 1308, 1308-1, and 1308-2; 16 U.S.C. 3834. § 1400.1 [Amended] 2. Amend the table in § 1400.1(g) by adding a line to read, in the first column, “Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP)”, and, in the second column, “10,000”. 3. Amend § 1400.2 by redesignating paragraphs (e) and (f) as (f) and (g), respectively, and adding new paragraphs (e) and (h) to read as follows: § 1400.2 Administration (e) Benefits from programs subject to this part may not be issued until all required forms and necessary payment eligibility and payment limitation determinations are made. (h) Reviews of farming operations and corresponding documentation submitted by program participants may be conducted to determine compliance with applicable statutes and regulations. 4. Add part 1411 to subchapter B of 7 CFR XIV to read as follows: PART 1411—OILSEEDS PROGRAM Subpart A—General Provisions Sec. 1411.101 Applicability. 1411.102 Administration. 1411.103 Definitions. 1411.104 Misinformation and misaction. 1411.105 Appeals. Subpart B—Eligibility Determinations 1411.201 Eligible producers. 1411.202 Violations, misrepresentation, or scheme or device. 1411.203 Payment amount. 1411.204 Payment acreage. 1411.205 Payment yield. Subpart C—Application for Payment 1411.301 Signup period. 1411.302 Submitting application. 1411.303 Late-filed acreage reports. Subpart D—Miscellaneous 1411.401 Limitation of payments. 1411.402 Offsets and Assignments; Powers of Attorney. Authority: Sec. 804, Pub. L. 106-78, 113 Stat. 1178. Subpart A—General Provisions § 1411.101 Applicability. This part implements the oilseed provisions enacted in section 804 of the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Appropriations Act, 2000 (Public Law 106-78). That section provided funds to allow for payments to producers who planted eligible oilseeds in 1999 and who meet other conditions of eligibility. § 1411.102 Administration. (a) This part shall be administered by CCC through the Farm Service Agency Deputy Administrator for Farm Programs under the general direction and supervision of the Executive Vice President, CCC. The program shall be carried out in the field by State and county committees of the Farm Service Agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. (b) State and county committees, and representatives and employees thereof, do not have the authority to modify or waive any of the provisions of the regulations in this part, as amended or supplemented. (c) The State committee shall take any action required by this part that has not been taken by the county committee. The State committee shall also: (1) Correct, or require a county committee to correct, any action taken by such county committee that is not in accordance with this part; or (2) Require a county committee to withhold taking any action that is not in accordance with this part. (d) No delegation in this section to a State or county committee shall preclude the Executive Vice President, CCC, or a designee, from determining any question arising under the program or from reversing or modifying any determination made by a State or county committee. The Deputy Administrator may waive or modify deadlines or other program requirements of this part to the extent that such a waiver or modification is otherwise permitted by law and is determined to be appropriate on the ground that it serves the goals of the program or other goals, and does not adversely affect the operation of the program. § 1411.103 Definitions. The definitions set forth in this section shall be applicable for all purposes of administering the 1999 Oilseeds Program, and shall be used for Oilseeds Program purposes only. Definitions contained in parts 718 and 1412 of this title shall also apply but to the extent that they conflict, the definitions in this section govern with respect to the Oilseeds Program in this part. Actual yield means an oilseed yield certified by the producer on CCC-780, and if subject to spot check, documented by acceptable production evidence provided by the producer for all the producer's planted acreage of the oilseed for the year in which the yield is proven. If subject to a certified yield spot check, the producer must document an actual yield on form FSA-658 or present RMA documentation indicating actual yields for all of the producer's planted acreage of the oilseed for the year in which the yield is proven. Control county means the county that for FSA administrative purposes will be considered to be controlling for purposes of making payment determinations with respect to particular applicants under the program provided for in this part. County average soybean yield means an average yield approved by DAFP using an Olympic average of the county's average soybean yield for each of the crop years 1994 through 1998 as determined by the State committee. To the extent such data is available, data from NASS shall be used. DAFP means the Deputy Administrator for Farm Programs, FSA. Deputy Administrator means DAFP. Eligible oilseed means one of the following kinds of oilseeds: soybeans, safflower seed, canola, rapeseed, mustard seed, sunflower seed (oil and confectionary), flaxseed, and crambe. Established producer means a producer who planted an oilseed for the 1999 crop year, and shared in the production of that specific oilseed in 1997 or 1998. National average oilseed yield means the Olympic average yield for an eligible oilseed using the National average yields for the oilseed for the years 1994 through 1998. Such yields shall be considered valid only if approved by DAFP. New producer means a producer who planted an eligible oilseed for crop year 1999, but did not plant or share in the production of that oilseed in 1997 or 1998. A producer may be a new producer of one eligible oilseed, while being an established producer for another oilseed. Oilseed Program Application means form CCC-780. Olympic average yield means the average yield for the stated period, after dropping the highest and lowest yields of that period. RMA means the Risk Management Agency of the United States Department of Agriculture. Sunflower seed acreage means the total acreage planted to sunflower seed on the farm in the applicable crop year without regard to the type of market to which the sunflower seed will be committed, oil or confectionary use. § 1411.104 Misinformation and misaction. The provisions of § 718.8 of this title are applicable to this part, with respect to performance based upon advice or action of county or State committees. § 1411.105 Appeals. A producer may obtain reconsideration and review of any adverse determination made under this part in accordance with the appeal regulations found at parts 11 and 780 of this title. Subpart B—Eligibility Determinations § 1411.201 Eligible producers. (a) Section 804 of Public Law 106-78 authorizes the Secretary to make payments to a producer who planted an eligible oilseed in 1999. Accordingly, producers of the 1999 crop of oilseeds identified in § 1411.203 are eligible to receive 1999 Oilseeds Program benefits, providing the producer meets the requirements of this part, and is in compliance with part 12 of this title regarding the conservation and protection of highly erodible lands and wetlands, and § 718.11 of this title regarding denials of program benefits for activities relating to the use of controlled substances. (b) Eligibility determinations made under this part will be made for each producer separately for each specific eligible oilseed planted by that producer in 1999. A producer is not eligible for payment with respect to an oilseed that the producer did not plant in 1999 regardless of whether the producer did or did not plant that oilseed in 1997 or 1998. § 1411.202 Violations, misrepresentation, or scheme or device. Any person who is determined to have intentionally misrepresented any fact affecting a program determination made in accordance with this part shall not be entitled to oilseed payments under this part and must refund all payments, plus interest determined in accordance with part 1403 of this chapter (relating to debt settlement polices and procedures). § 1411.203 Payment amount. Subject to the availability of funds, eligible persons can receive a payment under this part. The payment amount shall be equal to the payment rate established under this part multiplied by the producer's payment acreage multiplied, in turn, by the producer's payment yield. The payment rate shall be determined by DAFP after the level of program participation is known with sufficient clarity to allow for the calculation of the amount of payment that can be made, by unit of production, within the limits of the available funds. To the extent practicable, separate payment rates may be established for separate eligible oilseeds. Payments can be made only with respect to the production of eligible oilseeds. § 1411.204 Payment acreage. (a) The oilseed payment acreage for an established producer shall, for a particular oilseed, be the higher of the two acreage amounts determined by calculating, for the 1997 and 1998 crops separately, the acreage determined to be equal to the producer's acreage for that oilseed at all locations for that crop year, adjusted to reflect interests that are only partial interests in such acreage. (b) The payment acreage for a new producer of an eligible oilseed will be the producer's acreage for that oilseed for the 1999 crop at all locations, adjusted to reflect interests that are only partial interests in such acreage. (c) Acreage not planted to an oilseed crop because of weather, or because of crop rotation practices or other management decisions, or because of any other reason, shall not be treated as qualifying production for determining a person's general eligibility for payment, a person's payment acreage, or for any other reason under this part. § 1411.205 Payment yield. (a) For purposes of making yield determinations, under this part and for purposes of this section in particular, a producer's “applicable average yield” shall be, with respect to soybeans, the county average soybean yield. In the case of other oilseeds, the “applicable average yield” shall, for all persons qualifying for payment, be the national average oilseed yield for that oilseed. National and county average yields may be announced in advance of signup by DAFP. (b) A new producer's payment yield with respect to a particular eligible oilseed shall be the higher of the: (1) Applicable average yield for that oilseed or (2) Producer's actual yield for the 1999 crop year. (c) For established producers, the producer's payment yield for a particular oilseed shall be the higher of: (1) Applicable average yield; or (2) The higher for the 1997 and 1998 crops of the producer's actual yield respectively for those crop years for all acres of the oilseed planted by the producer. (d) In making determinations under paragraph (c) of this section for established producers, the choice of a crop year history will not be limited to the same history year chosen to set the producer's payment acres. (e) Where actual yields are used for purposes of establishing the producer's payment yields, the producer, if subject to a yield spot check or otherwise asked to do so, must document those actual yields using form FSA-658 and must establish those yields to the satisfaction of the county committee. (f) In making yield determinations, the producer's yields and payments may be adjusted by DAFP and the county and state committees, as necessary and practicable to reflect instances in which the producer has different yields at different locations and to reflect partial interests that the producer may have in some acreages. Subpart C—Application for Payment § 1411.301 Signup period. A signup period shall be announced by the Secretary. Late-filed applications shall not be accepted so that DAFP may establish, to the extent practicable, a final payment rate that will limit total payments to not more than the allocated amount, which shall be, unless determined otherwise by DAFP, $475 million minus such administrative expenses as can be deducted by law and minus such reserve as may be determined needed to resolve disputes and problematic claims. § 1411.302 Submitting application. (a) Producers shall properly complete, sign and file the application Form CCC-780, and submit the application to the Farm Service Agency during the signup period. (b) A separate CCC-780 is required for each producer. (c) For a producer to be considered to have properly filed the application, such applications must be filed by the producer in the FSA county office established as the control county for that producer at the time of application. § 1411.303 Late-filed acreage reports. Late-filed acreage reports may be submitted for Oilseed Program purposes no later than February 18, 2000, or as determined by DAFP, provided that the producer shall submit sufficient documentation to verify the acreage to the satisfaction of the county committee. Subpart D—Miscellaneous § 1411.401 Limitation of payments. (a) No more than the allotted funds may be used for payments under this part. However, no “per-person” limit on payments shall apply nor shall there be a gross revenue test as a condition of payment for a person or entity. (b) No person shall receive a payment under this part except upon a properly completed application properly submitted to the Farm Service Agency during the signup period announced by the Secretary. § 1411.402 Offsets and assignments; powers of attorney. (a) Except as provided in paragraph (b) of this section, any payment or portion thereof to any person shall be made without regard to questions of title under State law and without regard to any claim or lien against the crop, or proceeds thereof, in favor of the owner or any other creditor except agencies of the U.S. Government. The regulations governing offsets and withholdings found at part 1403 of this chapter shall be applicable to contract payments. (b) Any producer entitled to any payment may assign any payments in accordance with regulations governing assignment of payment found at part 1404 of this chapter. (c) In those instances in which, prior to the issuance of this part, a producer has signed a power of attorney on an approved FSA-211 for a person or entity indicating that such power shall extend to “all above programs”, without limitation, such power will be considered to extend to this program unless by June 22, 2000 the person granting the power notifies the local FSA office for the control county that the grantee of the power is not authorized to handle transactions for this program for the grantor. PART 1427—COTTON 5. The authority citation for 7 CFR part 1427 is revised to read as follows: Authority: 7 U.S.C. 7231-7235-7237; 15 U.S.C. 714b and 714c; sec. 813 of Pub. L. 106-78, 113 Stat 1182; and sec. 104, Pub. L. 106-113. 6. In § 1427.25 revise paragraphs (c)(1)(ii), (c)(2), (d)(1) introductory text, (d)(2)(i), (d)(3)(ii), and (f)(2)(ii) to read as follows: § 1427.25 Determination of the prevailing world market price and the adjusted world price for upland cotton. (c) * * * (1) * * * (ii) The average price of M 1 3/32 inch, leaf 3, (micronaire 3.5 through 3.6 and 4.3 through 4.9, strength 26.5 through 28.4 grams per tex, length uniformity 81 percent) cotton as quoted each Thursday in the designated U.S. spot markets. (2) The price determined in accordance with paragraph (c)(1) of this section shall be adjusted to reflect the price of Strict Low Middling (SLM) 1 1/16 inch, leaf 4, (micronaire 3.5 through 3.6 and 4.3 through 4.9, strength 26.5 through 28.4 grams per tex, length uniformity 81 percent) cotton (U.S. base quality) by deducting the difference, as announced by CCC, between the applicable loan rate for a crop of upland cotton for M 1 3/32 inch, leaf 3, (micronaire 3.5 through 3.6 and 4.3 through 4.9, strength 26.5 through 28.4 grams per tex, length uniformity 81 percent) cotton and the loan rate for a crop of upland cotton of the U.S. base quality. (d) * * * (1) If the difference between the average price quotations for the U.S. Memphis territory and the California/Arizona territory as quoted for M 1 3/32 inch cotton C.I.F. northern Europe and the average price of M 1 3/32 inch, leaf 3, (micronaire 3.5 through 3.6 and 4.3 through 4.9, strength 26.5 through 28.4 grams per tex, length uniformity 81 percent) cotton as quoted each Thursday in the designated U.S. spot markets for any week is: (2) * * * (i) May use the available northern Europe quotation to determine the difference between the average price quotations for the U.S. Memphis territory and the California/Arizona territory as quoted for M 1 3/32 inch, cotton C.I.F. northern Europe and the average price of M 1 3/32 inch, leaf 3, (micronaire 3.5 through 3.6 and 4.3 through 4.9, strength 26.5 through 28.4 grams per tex, length uniformity 81 percent) cotton as quoted each Thursday in the designated U.S. spot markets for that week, or (3) * * * (ii) the average price of M 1 3/32 inch, leaf 3, (micronaire 3.5 through 3.6 and 4.3 through 4.9, strength 26.5 through 28.4 grams per tex, length uniformity 81 percent) cotton as quoted in the designated U.S. spot markets, that week will not be taken into consideration. (f) * * * (2) * * * (ii) The difference between the applicable loan rate for a crop of upland cotton for M 1 3/32 inch, leaf 3, (micronaire 3.5 through 3.6 and 4.3 through 4.9, strength 26.5 through 28.4 grams per tex, length uniformity 81 percent) cotton and the loan rate for a crop of upland cotton for SLM 1 1/16 inch, leaf 4, (micronaire 3.5 through 3.6 and 4.3 through 4.9, strength 26.5 through 28.4 grams per tex, length uniformity 81 percent) cotton. 7. Add subpart F to 7 CFR part 1427 to read as follows: Subpart F—Cottonseed Payment Program Sec. 1427.1100 Applicability. 1427.1101 Administration. 1427.1102 Definitions. 1427.1103 Eligible cottonseed. 1427.1104 Eligible first handlers. 1427.1105 Payment application. 1427.1106 Total available program funds. 1427.1107 Applicant payment quantity. 1427.1108 Total payment quantity. 1427.1109 Payment Rate. 1427.1110 Payment calculation and form. 1427.1111 Liability of first handler. § 1427.1100 Applicability. (a) The regulations in this subpart are applicable to the 1999 crop of cottonseed. These regulations set forth the terms and conditions under which the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) shall provide payments to first handlers who have applied to participate in the cottonseed payment program in accordance with section 104(a) of the Omnibus Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2000 (Public Law 106-113). Additional terms and conditions may be set forth in the payment application that must be executed by participants to receive cottonseed payments. (b) Payments shall be available only for cottonseed produced and ginned in the United States. § 1427.1101 Administration. (a) The cottonseed payment program shall be administered under the general supervision of the Executive Vice President, CCC (Administrator, FSA), or a designee and shall be carried out by FSA's Kansas City Management Office (KCMO) and Price Support Division (PSD). (b) The KCMO and PSD representatives and employees thereof do not have the authority to modify or waive any of the provisions of the regulations of this subpart. (c) No provision or delegation herein to KCMO or PSD shall preclude the Executive Vice President, CCC, or a designee, from determining any question arising under the program or from reversing or modifying any determination made by KCMO or PSD. (d) The Executive Vice President, CCC, or a designee, may authorize KCMO or PSD to waive or modify deadlines and other non-statutory program requirements in cases where lateness or failure to meet such other requirements do not affect adversely the operation of the cottonseed payment program. The Executive Vice President may suspend the program should cause to do so appear as a result of a public rulemaking or otherwise. (e) A representative of CCC may execute cottonseed payment program applications and related documents only under the terms and conditions determined and announced by CCC. (f) Payment applications and related documents not executed in accordance with the terms and conditions determined and announced by CCC, including any purported execution prior to the date authorized by CCC, shall be null and void. (g) The Deputy Administrator for Farm Programs, FSA, may waive or modify non-statutory deadlines and other non-statutory program requirements in cases where lateness or failure to meet such other program requirements does not adversely affect the operation of the cottonseed payment program. (h) This subpart shall be administered only to the extent that it is determined by the Executive Vice President, CCC, that it is lawful and appropriate to commit funds to the program from sources specifically identified in the authorizing legislation. § 1427.1102 Definitions. The definitions set forth in this section shall be applicable for purposes of administering the 1999 cottonseed payment program. The terms applied in §§ 1427.3, 1427.52, and 1427.102 shall be applicable to this subpart. Cottonseed means the seed from any variety of upland cotton and extra long staple (ELS) cotton produced and ginned in the United States. Gin means a person ( i.e., an individual, partnership, association, corporation, cooperative marketing association, estate, trust, State or political subdivision or agency thereof, or other legal entity) that removes cottonseed from cotton lint in commercial quantities as determined by CCC. Number of bales means the absolute number of ginned cotton bales based on individual bale weights unadjusted to a uniform bale weight. Olympic average means the average for the stated period after excluding the highest and lowest values. Ton means a unit of weight equal to 2,000 pounds avoirdupois (907.18 kilograms). § 1427.1103 Eligible cottonseed. To be eligible for payments under this subpart, cottonseed must: (a) Have been grown in the United States during the 1999-crop production period. (b) Have been ginned by the applicant from 1999-crop cotton. (c) Not have been destroyed or damaged by fire, flood, or other events such that its loss or damage was compensated by other local, State, or Federal government or private or public insurance or disaster relief payments. § 1427.1104 Eligible first handlers. (a) For the purpose of this subpart, an eligible first handler of cottonseed shall be a gin that ginned 1999-crop cotton. (b) Applicants must comply with the terms and conditions set forth in this subpart and instructions issued by CCC, and sign and submit an accurate, legible and complete Cottonseed Payment Program Application/Certification. (c) Applicants must agree to share any payment received with the producer of the cotton that was the basis of the payment to the extent that the effect of low cottonseed prices was borne by the producer rather than the gin. To the extent that such funds will go to individual producers, those funds will be considered to have been received by the applicant on behalf of such producers. § 1427.1105 Payment application. (a) Payments in accordance with this subpart shall be made available to eligible first handlers of cottonseed based on information provided on a Cottonseed Payment Program Application/Certification. (b) Payment applications must be received within the program application period announced by CCC. Applications received after such application period will not be accepted for payment. (c) Cottonseed Payment Program Application/Certifications may be obtained from the CCC as announced by news release. In order to participate in the program authorized by this subpart, first handlers of cottonseed must execute the Cottonseed Payment Program Application/Certification and forward the original according to announced instructions. § 1427.1106 Total available program funds. The total available program fund shall be determined by CCC based on the funds available under section 802 of Public Law 106-78 (excluding any funds authorized to carry out title IX of Public Law 106-78) and under section 1111 of Public Law 105-277 not otherwise needed to fully implement those sections. § 1427.1107 Applicant payment quantity. (a) The applicant's payment quantity of cottonseed will be determined by CCC based on the eligible number of ginned cotton bales and cotton lint weight indicated on the Cottonseed Payment Application/Certification and/or obtained by from the Agricultural Marketing Service. (b) The applicant's payment quantity of cottonseed shall be calculated by multiplying: (1) The applicant's eligible weight of lint, in tons, for which payment is requested, as approved by CCC, by (2) 1.59 (the 1994-98 Olympic average ratio of estimated pounds of cottonseed per pound of ginned cotton lint). § 1427.1108 Total payment quantity. (a) The total quantity of 1999-crop cottonseed produced in the United States is eligible for payment under this subpart. The total payment quantity of cottonseed will be the total of eligible quantities of cottonseed for which applications for payment are received within the application period announced by CCC. (b) The total payment quantity of cottonseed shall be calculated by multiplying: (1) The eligible weight of cotton lint, in tons, for which payment is requested by all applicants, as approved by CCC, by (2) 1.59 (the 1994-98 Olympic average ratio of estimated pounds of cottonseed per pound of ginned cotton lint). § 1427.1109 Payment rate. The payment rate (dollars per ton) for the purpose of calculating payments made available in accordance with this subpart shall be determined by CCC by dividing the total available program funds, as determined by CCC, by (a) The higher of: (1) The total payment quantity, or (2) The total quantity of 1999-crop cottonseed, as estimated by CCC, or by (b) A quantity of cottonseed determined by CCC to provide applicants with payments at a level consistent with the statutory objectives. § 1427.1110 Payment calculation and form. (a) Payments in accordance with this subpart shall be determined for individual applicants by multiplying: (1) The payment rate, determined in accordance with § 1427.1109, by (2) The eligible payment quantity of the applicant, determined in accordance with § 1427.1107. (b) After receipt of the application for payment, together with required supporting documents, CCC will issue payments to the applicant, at the option of the applicant, to the applicant's mail address or by electronic deposit to the applicant's account. § 1427.1111 Liability of first handler. (a) If a first handler makes any fraudulent representation in obtaining a cottonseed payment, such payment shall be refunded upon demand by CCC. The first handler shall be liable for the amount of the payment and applicable interest on such payment, as determined by CCC. (b) Persons executing a joint payment application will be jointly and severally liable for any program violation, ineligibility, or refund due CCC, and each such person shall be and remain liable for the repayment of the entire payment of any amount due to CCC until the payment is fully repaid, without regard to such person's claimed share in the cottonseed payment. (c) If the payment recipient is suspected by CCC to have knowingly: adopted any scheme or device to defeat the purposes of this program; made any fraudulent representation; or misrepresented any fact affecting a determination under this application, CCC will notify the appropriate investigating agencies of the United States and take steps as deemed necessary to protect the interests of the government. (d) If the payment applicant receives a payment in excess of the entitled payment, the applicant shall refund to CCC an amount equal to the excess payment, plus interest thereon, as determined by CCC. (e) From the date of the payment application until the earlier of three years after the date of the application or July 31, 2003, the applicant shall keep records and furnish such information and reports relating to the application as may be requested by CCC. After that time, destruction of records shall be at the party's own risk. CCC may require the retention of the records for a longer period of time as the need arises. Such records shall be available at all reasonable times for an audit or inspection by authorized representatives of CCC, the United States Department of Agriculture, or the Comptroller General of the United States. Failure to keep, or make available, such records may result in refund to CCC of all payments received, plus interest thereon, as determined by CCC. (f) Unless otherwise approved by CCC, no Member or Delegate of Congress or Resident Commissioner shall be admitted to any share or part of payments provided under this program or to any benefit to arise therefrom, except that this provision shall not be construed to extend to their interest in any incorporated company, if the payment is for the general benefit of such company, or to any benefit in which it is determined by CCC such person's interest is that of a producer of cotton. 8. Add subpart G to 7 CFR Part 1427 to read as follows: Subpart G—Extra Long Staple (ELS) Cotton Competitiveness Payment Program Sec. 1427.1200 Applicability. 1427.1201 Administration. 1427.1202 Definitions. 1427.1203 Eligible ELS cotton. 1427.1204 Eligible domestic users and exporters. 1427.1205 ELS Cotton Domestic User/Exporter Agreement. 1427.1206 Form of payment. 1427.1207 Payment rate. 1427.1208 Payment. Subpart G—Extra Long Staple (ELS) Cotton Competitiveness Payment Program § 1427.1200 Applicability. (a) Except as specified by CCC, the regulations in this subpart are applicable to the period beginning June 8, 2000, unless the Executive Vice President, CCC, shall apply the regulations to an earlier period, but not earlier than October 1, 1999, consistent with the authorizing statute. These regulations set forth the terms and conditions under which CCC shall make payments, in the form of commodity certificates or cash, to eligible domestic users and exporters of extra long staple (ELS) cotton who have entered into an ELS Cotton Domestic User/Exporter Agreement with CCC to participate in the ELS cotton competitiveness payment program in accordance with section 136A(c) of the Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act of 1996 (Pub. L. 104-127). (b) During the effective period of these regulations, CCC may issue marketing certificates or cash payments to domestic users and exporters, at the option of the recipient, in accordance with this subpart in any week following a consecutive 4-week period in which: (1) The lowest adjusted Wednesday through Tuesday average price quotation for foreign growths (LFQ), as quoted for ELS cotton, delivered C.I.F. (cost, insurance and freight) Northern Europe is less than the Wednesday through Tuesday adjusted average domestic spot price quotation for U.S. Pima cotton, grade 3, staple 44, micronaire 3.5 or higher, uncompressed, F.O.B. warehouse; and (2) The LFQ, determined in accordance with § 1427.1207, is less than 134 percent of the current crop year loan level for the ELS cotton grade 3, staple 44, micronaire 3.5 or higher. (c) Additional terms and conditions may be set forth in the ELS Cotton Domestic User/Exporter Agreement, which must be executed by the domestic user or exporter in order to receive such payments. (d) Forms that are used in administering the ELS cotton competitiveness payment program shall be prescribed by CCC. § 1427.1201 Administration. (a) The ELS cotton competitiveness payment program shall be administered under the general supervision of the Executive Vice-President, CCC (Administrator, FSA), or a designee and shall be carried out by FSA's Kansas City Commodity Office (KCCO) and Kansas City Management Office (KCMO). (b) The KCCO and KCMO, and representatives and employees thereof, do not have the authority to modify or waive any of the provisions of the regulations of this subpart. (c) No provision or delegation herein to KCCO or KCMO shall preclude the Executive Vice President, CCC, or a designee, from determining any question arising under the program or from reversing or modifying any determination made by KCCO or KCMO. (d) The Executive Vice President, CCC, or a designee, may authorize KCCO or KCMO to waive or modify non-statutory deadlines and other non-statutory program requirements in cases where lateness or failure to meet such other requirements do not affect adversely the operation of the ELS cotton competitiveness payment program. In addition, the Executive Vice President may suspend the program to the extent that cause to do so may appear as a result of a public rulemaking or otherwise. (e) A representative of CCC may execute ELS cotton competitiveness payment program payment applications, ELS Cotton Domestic User/Exporter Agreements and related documents only under the terms and conditions determined and announced by CCC. (f) Payment applications, ELS Cotton Domestic User/Exporter Agreements and related documents not executed in accordance with the terms and conditions determined and announced by CCC, including any purported execution prior to the date authorized by CCC, shall be null and void. (g) This program shall only be administered to the extent that it is determined by the Executive Vice President, CCC, that it is lawful and appropriate to commit funds to this program from those sources specifically identified as the funding source in the authorizing legislation. § 1427.1202 Definitions. The definitions set forth in this section shall be applicable for all purposes of program administration. The terms defined in §§ 1427.3 and 1427.52 of this part and part 1413 of this chapter shall also be applicable. Adjusted spot price means the spot price adjusted to reflect any lack of data for grade 3 or staple 44 to make the adjusted spot price comparable to a spot price assuming grade 3 and staple 44. If grade 3 spot price data are not available, spot prices for grade 2, grade 1, or grade 4 will be used and will be adjusted by the average difference between spot prices for grade 3 and those for grade 2, grade 1 or grade 4, as the case may be, over the available observations during the previous 12 months. If spot prices for staple 44 are not available, spot prices for staple 46 may be used and will be adjusted by the average difference between spot prices for staple 44 and those for staple 46 over the available observations during the previous 12 months. Bale opening means the removal of the bagging and ties from a bale of eligible ELS cotton in the normal opening area, immediately prior to use, by a manufacturer in a building or collection of buildings where the cotton in the bale will be used in the continuous process of manufacturing raw cotton into cotton products in the United States. Consumption means, the use of eligible ELS cotton by a domestic user in the manufacture in the United States of ELS cotton products. Cotton product means any product containing cotton fibers that result from the use of an eligible bale of ELS cotton in manufacturing. Current shipment price means, during the period in which two daily price quotations are available for the LFQ for the foreign growth quoted C.I.F. Northern Europe, the price quotation for cotton for shipment no later than August/September of the current calendar year. Forward shipment price means, during the period in which two daily price quotations are available for the LFQ for foreign growths quoted C.I.F. Northern Europe, the price quotation for cotton for shipment no earlier than October/November of the current calendar year. LFQ means, during the period in which only one daily price quotation is available for the growth, the lowest average for the preceding Wednesday-through-Tuesday week of the price quotations for foreign growths of ELS cotton, quoted C.I.F. Northern Europe, after each respective average is adjusted for quality differences between the respective foreign growth and U.S. Pima, grade 3, staple 44, micronaire 3.5 and higher, provided that the lowest adjusted quotation becomes the LFQ after it is further adjusted to reflect the estimated cost of transportation between an average U.S. location and northern Europe. (1) Current LFQ means the average for the preceding Wednesday through Tuesday of the current shipment prices for the lowest adjusted foreign growth, C.I.F. Northern Europe. (2) Forward LFQ means the average for the preceding Wednesday through Tuesday of the forward shipment prices for the lowest adjusted foreign growth quoted C.I.F. Northern Europe. Spot price means the Wednesday-Tuesday weekly average of the domestic spot prices reported by the Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA, for U.S. Pima, grade 3, staple 44, micronaire 3.5 or higher, uncompressed, F.O.B. warehouse, for the San Joaquin and Desert Southwest markets. When both San Joaquin Valley and Desert Southwest spot quotations are available, the U.S. quotation will be the average of the two quotations. If only one quotation is available, that quotation will be used. § 1427.1203 Eligible ELS cotton. (a) For the purposes of this subpart, eligible ELS cotton is domestically produced baled ELS cotton that is— (1) Opened by an eligible domestic user on or after October 1, 1999, or, (2) Exported by an eligible exporter on or after October 1, 1999, during a Wednesday through Tuesday period in which a payment rate, determined in accordance with § 1427.1207, is in effect, and that meets the requirements of paragraphs (b) and (c) of this section; (b) Eligible ELS cotton must be either— (1) Baled lint, including baled lint classified by USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service as Below Grade; (2) Loose; (3) Semi-processed motes that are of a quality suitable, without further processing, for spinning, papermaking or bleaching; (4) Reginned (processed) motes. (c) Eligible ELS cotton must not be— (1) ELS Cotton with respect to which a payment, in accordance with the provisions of this subpart, has been made available; (2) Imported ELS cotton; (3) Raw (unprocessed) motes; (4) Semi-processed motes that are not of a quality suitable, without further processing, for spinning, papermaking or bleaching; (5) Textile mill wastes; or (6) Semi-processed or reginned (processed) motes that have been blended with textile mill waste or other fibers. § 1427.1204 Eligible domestic users and exporters. (a) For the purposes of this subpart, the following persons shall be considered to be eligible domestic users and exporters of ELS cotton: (1) A person regularly engaged in the business of opening bales of eligible ELS cotton for the purpose of manufacturing such cotton into cotton products in the United States (“domestic user”), who has entered into an agreement with CCC to participate in the ELS cotton competitiveness payment program; or (2) A person, including a producer or a cooperative marketing association approved in accordance with part 1425 of this chapter, regularly engaged in selling eligible ELS cotton for exportation from the United States (“exporter”), who has entered into an agreement with CCC to participate in the ELS cotton competitiveness payment program. (b) Applications for payment in accordance with this subpart must contain documentation required by the provisions of the ELS Cotton Domestic User/Exporter Agreement and instructions issued by CCC. § 1427.1205 ELS Cotton Domestic User/Exporter Agreement. (a) Payments in accordance with this subpart shall be made available to eligible domestic users and exporters who have entered into an ELS Cotton Domestic User/Exporter Agreement with CCC [Text truncated at 120,000 characters. The full text is on the page linked above.] --- Source: Frix Law Library, https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/documents/fr%3A00-13934. Public record. Not legal advice.