# 1994 Wheat, Feed Grains, Cotton and Rice Programs; Interim Rule DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE > Briefs, arguments, decisions, and more. URL: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/documents/fr%3A94-27562 ## Record - **Collection:** Federal Register - **Document type:** Uncategorized Document - **Published:** November 16, 1994 ## Text SUMMARY: The statutory requirements that relate to the feed grains, rice, upland and extra long staple cotton, and wheat programs were amended by the Agricultural Reconciliation Act of 1993 (the 1993 Act), which was enacted on August 11, 1993. This interim rule sets forth amendments: to conform to the provisions of the 1993 Act; to make certain technical corrections; to delete references to obsolete provisions; to add references relating to current policy; to set forth the provisions for The Options Pilot Program (OPP) and Voluntary Production Limitation Program (VPLP); and to improve the operations of these programs for the 1994 through 1997 crop years. DATES: Interim rule effective November 16, 1994. Comments must be received on or before December 16, 1994 in order to be assured of consideration. ADDRESSES: Submit comments to: Director, Cotton, Grain, and Rice Price Support Division, Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service (ASCS), United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), P.O. Box 2415, Washington, DC 20013-2415. Comments may be inspected at USDA, ASCS, 14th and Independence Avenue, South Agriculture Building, room 3640, Washington, DC 20013-2415 between 7:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, except holidays. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Bruce D. Hiatt, Agricultural Program Specialist, ASCS, USDA, P.O. Box 2415, Washington, DC 20013-2415, telephone 202-690-2798. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Executive Order 12866 This interim rule is issued in conformance with Executive Order 12866. Based on information compiled by the USDA, it has been determined that this interim rule: (1) Would have an annual effect on the economy of less than $100 million; (2) Would not adversely affect in a material way the economy, a sector of the economy, productivity, competition, jobs, the environment, public health or safety, or State, local or tribal governments or communities; (3) Would not create a serious inconsistency or otherwise interfere with an action taken or planned by another agency; (4) Would not materially alter the budgetary impact of entitlements, grants, user fees, or loan programs or rights and obligations of recipients thereof; and (5) Would not raise novel legal or policy issues arising out of legal mandates, the President's priorities, or principles set forth in Executive Order 12866. Final Regulatory Impact Analyses Final Regulatory Impact Analyses have been prepared with respect to the programs for the 1994 crops of wheat, feed grains, cotton, and rice. Copies of the analyses are available to the public from the Deputy Administrator for Policy Analysis, ASCS, USDA, room 3741, South Agriculture Building, 14th and Independence Avenue, P.O. Box 2415, Washington, DC 20013-2415. Federal Assistance Programs The titles and numbers of the Federal Assistance Programs, as found in the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance, to which this interim rule applies are Cotton Production Stabilization--10.052; Feed Grain Production Stabilization--10.055; Wheat Production Stabilization-- 10.058; and Rice Production Stabilization--10.065. Regulatory Flexibility Act It has been determined that the Regulatory Flexibility Act is not applicable to this interim rule since neither ASCS nor the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) is required by 5 U.S.C. 553 or any other provision of the 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 12778 This interim rule has been reviewed in accordance with Executive Order 12778. The provisions of this interim rule preempt State laws to the extent such laws are inconsistent with the provisions of this rule. The provisions of this rule are not retroactive. Before any judicial action may be brought concerning the provisions of this rule, the administrative remedies at 7 CFR part 780 must be exhausted. Executive Order 12372 This program/activity is not subject to the provisions of Executive Order 12372, which requires 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). Paperwork Reduction Act The amendments set forth in this interim rule contain new and revised information collections that require clearance by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) under the provisions of 44 U.S.C. 35. These requirements have been submitted to OMB with a request for expedited review. Public reporting burden for these collections is estimated to vary from 15 minutes to 45 minutes per response, including time for reviewing instructions, searching existing sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, to Department of Agriculture, Clearance Officer, OIRM, AG Box 7630, Washington, DC 20250; and to the Office of Management and Budget, Paperwork Reduction Project (OMB Nos. 0560-0004 and 0560-0092), Washington, DC 20503. Background The Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990 (the 1990 Act) amended various Acts, including the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938 and the Agricultural Act of 1949 (the 1949 Act). The Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act Amendments of 1991 made technical corrections to these Acts in order to correct errors and to improve the amendments made by the 1990 Act. The 1993 Act, which was enacted on August 11, 1993, amended the 1949 Act to provide that the so-called ``0/92'' and ``50/92'' provisions of the annual acreage reduction programs (ARP's) be changed to ``0/85'' and ``50/85'' for producers of wheat, feed grains, upland cotton, and rice. Producers who plant minor oilseeds or industrial and other crops (IOC's), or who were prevented from planting or had reduced yields, shall be eligible for benefits under the so-called ``0/92'' or ``50/92'' provisions of the ARP's. This interim rule: (1) Sets forth the amendments provided by the 1993 Act, (2) Includes provisions from policy set forth for county ASCS offices, (3) Provides the rules for incomplete performance based on information provided by a representative of the Secretary, failure to fully comply, the Options Pilot Program, and the VPLP, (4) Makes minor editorial changes, and (5) Revises many of the sections for clarity. Discussion of Changes A. 7 CFR Part 718, Determination of Acreage and Compliance Section 718.10 State Committee (STC) Responsibilities This section has been amended to allow STC's to set a per acre rate for acres in excess of 25 acres to reflect the cost involved nationally in performing measurement service from photographic slides, and to provide for the cost of furnishing reproductions of aerial photographs. Section 718.12 Authority for Farm Entry and Securing Information This section has been amended to provide that a farm operator has 15 days to reply to the county office after receiving notice of refusal to permit entry and inspection on the farm. Section 718.21 Measurement Services This section has been amended to include the requirements that must be met in order to keep the measurement service guarantee when a measurement service reveals acreage in excess of the permitted acreage. Section 718.22 Acreage Reports This section has been revised to include provisions for destroying small grain acreage beyond the crop disposition date by haying and grazing, and to provide the name and number of the form on which producers report their acreage and land uses. Section 718.24 Revised Reports This section had been amended to include the provisions for revising acreage reports for farms enrolled in the ARP, provisions for items that cannot be revised, when the revision adversely affects the program, provisions for releasing excess acreage conservation reserve (ACR) resulting from an acreage determination, and provisions for substituting acreage for previously reported ACR. Section 718.25 Reporting out of Compliance This section has been amended to add available flex acreage to the maximum permitted acreage when determining if producers are in compliance with acreage planting restrictions. Section 718.26 Farm Inspections This section has been amended to provide that producers that have an interest in a farm and are a warehouse operator, manager, or dealer are no longer required spot checks. This section also provides for required spot checks for farms on which there is unmarketed tobacco. Section 718.40 Tolerance and Variance Rules Applicability This section has been amended to provide tolerance provisions for corn and grain sorghum acreage enrolled in the production adjustment programs, and to increase the tolerance to the larger of 1.0 acre or 5 percent not to exceed 50 acres. Section 718.42 Skip Rows and Strip Crops This section has been amended to provide for determining a farm's history of planting 32-inch rows when producers have the option to consider the crop as either solid planted or skip row, and to include row widths that are wider than 32 inches when providing producers the option to consider the crop as either solid planted or skip row. Section 718.43 Deductions This section has been amended to clarify that, for areas not devoted to the crop or land use that are located within the planted area, the part of any perimeter area that is more than 33 links in width shall be an internal deduction if the standard deduction is used. Section 718.45 Notice of Measured Acreage This section had been revised to provide the number and name of the form on which written notice of measured acreage is provided to interested producers on the farm. Section 718.47 Redeterminations This section has been amended by removing verbiage that the redetermination is final and is not appealable under part 780 of this chapter. When the 1990 Act established the National Appeals Division, all decisions and redeterminations made by STC's and County Committees (COC's) became appealable. B. 7 CFR Part 790--Incomplete Performance Based Upon Action Or Advice of An Authorized Representative of the Secretary Section 790.2 Action Section 790.2 has been revised to clarify existing provisions. Section 790.3 Delegation of Authority Section 790.3 has been revised to provide that the STC may exercise the authority provided in this part in cases where the total of payments and benefits extended under this part does not exceed $5,000. Section 790.4 Filing of Request for Consideration Section 790.4 has been revised to provide that COC's may submit a request for consideration under this part to the STC without a specific request from the producer when the COC believes that the producer is entitled to consideration under the provisions of this part. C. 7 CFR Part 791--Authority To Make Payments When There Has Been a Failure To Comply Fully With the Program Section 791.2 The Making of Loans, Purchases, and Payments When There Has Been a Failure to Fully Comply With the Program This section has been revised to provide that the Deputy Administrator, State and County Operations, the Deputy Administrator, Commodity Operations, and the National Appeals Division, may authorize the making of loans, purchases, or payments in such amounts as is determined to be equitable in relation to the seriousness of the failure to fully comply. D. 7 CFR Part 1413, Feed Grain, Rice, Upland and Extra Long Staple Cotton, Wheat, and Related Programs Part 1413 has been revised into subparts to better organize the information contained therein for the use of the public. Section 1413.1 Applicability This section has been amended to set forth the terms and conditions under which producers of feed grains, rice, upland and extra long staple (ELS) cotton and wheat may enter into agreements with CCC and comply with the terms of such agreements and the provisions of this part in order to qualify for program benefits. Section 1413.2 Compliance With Part 12 of This Title, Highly Erodible Land and Wetland Conservation Provisions This section has been renumbered. This section requires compliance with the provisions of part 12 of this title to retain eligibility for program benefits. Section 1413.3 Controlled Substance Violations This section has been added to set forth the rules for making payments when the provisions of part 796 of this title have been violated. Section 1413.4 Administration This section has been renumbered. This section sets forth the provisions for administering the programs through the STC's and COC's. Section 1413.5 Performance Based Upon Advice or Action of County or State Committee This section has been renumbered. This section states that the provisions of part 791 of this title apply to this part. Section 1413.6 Appeals This section has been renumbered. This section sets forth the rules for producer appeals. Section 1413.7 Paperwork Reduction Act Assigned Numbers This section has been renumbered and amended to set forth the provisions for information collection requirements for the regulations. Section 1413.9 Definitions This section has been renumbered and amended to set forth the definitions applicable for all purposes of program administration. Definitions added to this section include acreage reduction program (ARP), actual ELS cotton yield per acre, custom farming, determined acreage, disaster, farming operations and practices, high residue crop (HRC), landlord, low residue crop (LRC), minor, nonrotation, offset, operator, other cotton, participating crop, participating farm, program benefits, repeat crop, sharecropper, and tenant. The definitions for current year, farm program payment yield, and producer have been revised for clarification. Section 1413.10 Planted Crop Acreages This section has been renumbered and the section heading has been revised. Paragraph (a) has been amended to remove incorrect references. Paragraph (c)(1) has been amended to reference the final planting date in accordance with part 400 of this title. Paragraph (c)(4) has been amended to correct the section reference. Subparagraphs (c)(6)(i) through (iv) have been added to provide policy for the use of experimental acreages. Paragraph (c)(7) has been amended to correct the section reference and paragraph (c)(9) has been added to include any crop acreages on a farm which are planted by a producer with no intent to harvest. Section 1413.11 Considered Planted Acreages This section has been added to include the provisions for determining considered planted acreage for a crop. References to considered planted acreages which were previously referenced in other sections have been consolidated into this section. Section 1413.15 Farm Program Payment Yields This section has been renumbered, and the text has been amended to provide the rules for establishing farm program payment yields for a crop. Section 1413.16 Establishing Crop Yields for Soybeans and Minor Oilseeds This section has been added to provide the rules for establishing yields for soybeans and minor oilseeds. Section 1413.17 Historical Weighted Yields (HWY) This section has been added to provide the rules for determining the HWY for crop on a farm. Section 1413.18 Irrigated Acreage Maximum (IAM) for Yields This section has been added to include the provisions for determining the IAM for a crop for a farm. Section 1413.19 Submitting Production Evidence This section has been added to include the rules for submitting reports of production evidence of crops of wheat, feed grains, upland cotton, and rice. Section 1413.20 Reducing Yields This section has been added to provide for reducing yields for current year program payment purposes when a program crop is planted or maintained in an unworkmanlike manner that, under normal conditions, would not yield production comparable to the established yield for the crop. Section 1413.24 Crop Acreage Bases (CAB's) This section has been renumbered and amended to include procedures used in establishing CAB's. Section 1413.25 Participation in the Conservation Reserve Program This section has been renumbered and amended to reflect the change of reference from a program contract to a program agreement. Section 1413.26 Adjusting CAB's This section has been renumbered and amended to include rules for permanent or temporary adjustments of crop acreage bases (CAB's). Section 1413.27 Conservation Compliance CAB Exchanges This section has been amended to correct the section reference. Section 1413.30 Reconstitution of Farms This section has been renumbered and amended for clarity. Section 1413.31 Notice of CAB's and Yields This section has been renumbered and amended to provide the rules for notifying producers of the CAB's and yields for a crop on a farm. Section 1413.34 ELS Cotton Counties This section has been added to include the rules for defining ELS cotton and determining ELS cotton counties. These rules previously appeared in other sections of this part. Section 1413.35 ELS Cotton CAB's This section has been added to include the rules for establishing ELS cotton CAB's. These rules previously appeared in other sections of this part. Section 1413.36 ELS Cotton Crop Program Payment Yields This section has been added to include rules for establishing ELS cotton yields. These rules previously appeared in other sections of this part. Section 1413.37 Submitting ELS Cotton Production Evidence This section has been added to include the rules for submitting ELS cotton production evidence to the county ASCS office. Section 1413.41 0/85/92 Program Provisions for Wheat and Feed Grains This section has been added to provide the general rules for participation in the 0/85 or 0/92 provisions of the feed grains and wheat programs when an ARP is in effect. Section 1413.42 50/85 and 50/92 Program Provisions for Upland Cotton and Rice This section has been added to provide the general rules for use of the 50/85 or 50/92 provisions of the upland cotton and rice programs when an ARP is in effect. Section 1413.43 Planting Flexibility This section has been renumbered and amended to include the provisions related to planting flexibility. Section 1413.50 Requirements for Program Participation The section heading has been revised and the text has been amended to set forth the provisions for participating in an ARP or land diversion program. Participation requirements for farms with both corn and grain sorghum CAB's, or farms with either a corn or grain sorghum CAB, are set forth in this section. Section 1413.51 Successors in Interest This section has been renumbered and amended to include the rules applicable to CCC-477 successor in interest determinations. Section 1413.52 Misrepresentation and Scheme or Device This section has been renumbered and amended to refer to CCC-477. Section 1413.53 Required Acreage Reduction This section has been renumbered and amended to correct the method for determining the acreage of eligible land devoted to conservation uses (CU) for ELS cotton. Section 1413.54 Land Diversion This section has been renumbered and amended to provide current provisions regarding a land diversion program. A land diversion program will not be offered in 1994. Section 1413.55 Acreage Reduction Program Provisions This section has been renumbered and amended to provide 1994 acreage reduction factors for wheat, feed grains, and upland and ELS cotton and rice. Rules are also set forth in this section for planting of minor oilseeds and IOC's on ACR or CU for payment. Section 1413.60 Basic Rules for ACR and CU for Payment Acreage This section has been amended to include provisions for CU for payment acreage because the rules for ACR and CU for payment acreage are the same. Section 1413.61 Eligible Land for ACR and CU for Payment Designation This section has been amended to include the rules for determining eligibility for CU for payment acreage. Other changes have been made to clarify the provisions within this section. Section 1413.62 Ineligible Land for ACR or CU for Payment Designation This section has been amended to include the rules for determining whether land is eligible to be designated for CU for payment. Other changes have been made to clarify the provisions within this section. Section 1413.63 Required Cover Crops and Practices on ACR The section heading and the text have been amended to provide references to ACR only for required cover and practices and to include rules applicable to required cover crops and ACR practices. Section 1413.64 Nationally Approved Cover Crops and Practices for ACR and CU for Payment Acreages This section has been added to set forth the rules for nationally approved cover crops and practices for ACR and CU for payment acreage. Section 1413.65 Locally Approved Cover crops and Practices for ACR and CU for Payment This section has been added to provide the rules for locally approved cover crops and practices for ACR and CU for payment. Section 1413.66 Use of ACR and CU for Payment Acreage This section has been renumbered and amended to include references to the use of CU for payment acreage. Section 1413.67 Control of Erosion, Insects, Weeds, and Rodents on ACR and CU for Payment Acreage This section has been renumbered and amended to include references to CU for payment acreage. Section 1413.68 Orchards This section has been renumbered and amended to include references to CU for payment acreage. Section 1413.69 Land Going Out of Agricultural Production This section has been renumbered and amended to include references to CU for payment acreage. Section 1413.70 Wildlife Food Plots or Habitat This section has been renumbered and amended to include references to CU for payment acreage and rules for determining crop seeding mixtures to be planted on such acreage. Section 1413.71 Insufficient ACR Acreage This section has been renumbered and amended for clarity. Section 1413.72 Destroyed Crop Acreage This section has been renumbered and amended to clarify the provisions for requesting to substitute acreages of small grains or row crops that were destroyed for designated ACR acreage. Section 1413.74 Reduction in ACR This section has been renumbered and amended for clarity. Section 1413.75 Skip Rows This section has been renumbered and amended to remove incorrect paragraph references. Section 1413.100 Determination of Farm Program Acreage This section has been amended for clarity. Section 1413.101 General Payment Provisions This section has been amended for clarity. Section 1413.102 Advance Payments This section has been amended for clarity. Section 1413.103 Established (Target) Prices This section has been renumbered and amended for clarity. Section 1413.104 Deficiency Payments This section has been renumbered and amended for clarity. Section 1413.105 Timing and Calculation of Deficiency Payments This section has been renumbered and amended to correct paragraph references. Section 1413.106 Division of Payments This section has been renumbered and amended to change references to contract to read agreement; to provide for determinations of scheme or device relative to cash leases; and to provide for determinations of types of leases and payment shares, division of payment shares, and clarification of determinations for hybrid seed corn growers with contracts with seed corn companies. Section 1413.107 Provisions Relating to Tenants and Sharecroppers This section has been renumbered and amended. Section 1413.108 Offsets and Assignments This section has been renumbered. Section 1413.109 Payments by Commodities and Commodity Certificates and Refunds This section has been renumbered. Section 1413.110 Malting Barley This section has been amended to remove incorrect references, add correct references, and clarify the malting barley provisions. Section 1413.121 Disaster Credit This section has been renumbered and amended to provide the rules for producer applications and COC determinations of prevented planting and failed acreage credit. Section 1413.122 Eligibility for Regular Prevented Planted and Reduced Yield Payments This section has been renumbered and amended to correct paragraph references and to include provisions used to determine eligibility for disaster payments. Section 1413.123 Regular Disaster Payment Computations This section has been renumbered and amended. E. 7 CFR Part 1414--Integrated Farm Management Program Option Part 1414 has been revised into subparts to better organize the information therein for the use of the public. Section 1414.1 General Description of the Program This section has been amended to clarify the objectives of the Integrated farm management (IFM) program. Section 1414.8 Definitions This section has been renumbered and the definitions of alternative crops, and resource conserving crop (RCC) have been amended for clarity. Section 1414.9 Acreage Enrollment This section has been renumbered and amended to clarify the program years and the acreage limitation. Section 1414.10 Eligibility This section has been renumbered and amended to clarify eligibility rules. Section 1414.11 Agreements This section has been renamed, renumbered and amended to provide that producers must agree to devote to a RCC not less than 20 percent of each crop acreage base on the farm enrolled in the IFM. Section 1414.13 Displacement of Tenants or Lessees This section has been renumbered and amended for clarity. Section 1414.27 Resource-Conserving Crops on ACR This section has been renumbered and amended to provide that ACR having RCC's planted must meet minimum size and width requirements for ACR. Haying and grazing requirements have also been clarified. Section 1414.28 Resource-Conserving Crops on Payment Acres This section has been renumbered and amended to clarify the haying, grazing and harvesting provisions for RCC's on payment acres. Section 1414.29 Traditionally Underplanted Acreage and Reduction of Payment Acres This section has been renumbered and amended for clarity. F. 7 CFR Part 1415--Options Pilot Program A pilot program for options contracts (the options program) for the 1993 crop year was announced by the Secretary of Agriculture. The options program was administered in conjunction with the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT). Under the options program, CCC entered into contracts with eligible producers who (1) agreed to purchase at least one CBOT put option for their chosen commodity, and (2) agreed to forgo other program benefits on any enrolled bushels. Producers were reimbursed by CCC for the cost of the premium for purchasing the put option and received an incentive payment of 15 cents or 5 cents per enrolled bushel for participating in the program, depending on whether producers enrolled at the target price equivalent level or the price support equivalent level, respectively. The enrollment period for this program was March 1 through April 30, 1993. This program was available to corn producers in nine counties in three States: Champaign, Logan, and Shelby Counties in Illinois; Carroll, Clinton, and Tippecanoe Counties in Indiana; and Boone, Grundy, and Hardin Counties in Iowa. In the three Illinois counties, wheat and soybean producers could also participate. Producers were required to participate in the annual ARP for corn and wheat to be eligible for the options program on those commodities. Soybean producers must have accurately reported their soybean plantings in order to be eligible to participate. Participation Choices Producers could participate in the options program at levels that are alternatives to either (1) deficiency payments and loan program protection, or (2) loan program protection. Producers who chose the ``deficiency payments'' alternative enrolled production in the options program as ``target price bushels'' and agreed to forgo deficiency payments, price support benefits, and loan deficiency payments on any enrolled bushels. Producers who chose the ``loan program protection'' alternative enrolled production in the options program as ``price support bushels'' and agreed to forego price support benefits and loan deficiency payments on any enrolled bushels. Production could have been enrolled at either the target price or price support level, but not both. However, a producer could enroll some production at each level. Premiums and Incentives Producers participating in the options program received: (1) A subsidy to cover the cost of the premium for the purchase of the put option(s), and (2) An incentive payment of 15 cents per bushel on target price bushels, or 5 cents per bushel on price support bushels. Target Price Participation Corn participants were required to purchase at least one CBOT December 1993 corn put option contract (5,000 bushels) at a strike price equivalent to the $2.75 per bushel target price on or before June 15, 1993. Wheat participants were required to purchase at least one CBOT September 1993 wheat put option contract (5,000 bushels) at a strike price equivalent to the $4 per bushel target price on or before May 15, 1993. Price Support Participation Corn participants were required to purchase at least one CBOT March 1994 corn put option contract at a strike price equivalent to the county price support price for corn. Wheat participants were required to purchase at least one CBOT December 1993 wheat put option contract at a strike price equivalent to the county price support price for wheat. Soybean participants were required to purchase at least one CBOT March 1994 soybean put option contract at a strike price equivalent to the county soybean price support price, minus the 2 percent loan origination fee. Put options at the price support level could be purchased until the options expired, beginning at harvest of the crop (at the time the crop was otherwise eligible to be placed under loan). The Secretary determined that the strike price equivalent to the county price support price for all nine counties was $2 per bushel for corn, $2.90 per bushel for wheat, and $5.50 per bushel for soybeans. Other Production Eligible production not enrolled in either the target price or price support levels of the options program was eligible to be pledged as collateral for CCC price support loans and for deficiency payments. Other Requirements and Restrictions All put options purchased as required by the options program must have been purchased through a separate account with a registered commodity broker. A subaccount is not considered ``separate'' for purposes of the options program. Documentation Documentation of all transactions involving the commodities covered by the program was required to be provided to CCC. This documentation includes, but is not limited to, copies of brokers' trade confirmations, account statements, and copies of cash contracts or bills of sale. Corn and Wheat Options Program Participants Options program participants for corn and wheat must have complied with the acreage limitations and other requirements of the acreage reduction programs. Additionally, participants agreed that (1) in the case of target price participation, the total of the premium subsidies received under the options program and the deficiency payments received under the annual acreage reduction programs will not exceed $50,000 per person; and (2) in the case of price support participation, the total of premium subsidies received under the option program and loan deficiency payments, marketing loan gains and ``Findley'' deficiency payments received under such price support programs will not exceed $75,000 per person. A ``person'' will be determined in the same manner as a ``person'' is determined for payment limitation purposes for such annual programs. Incentive Payments Incentive payments made under either participation level are not subject to any payment limit, except to the extent that the total number of bushels any one producer may enroll in the options program is limited to 50,000 bushels for corn and 15,000 bushels for wheat and soybeans. In the event that CCC made disaster assistance available with respect to the 1993 crops of wheat, corn, or soybeans to producers participating in the options program at the target price level, such producers must refund any premium subsidies and incentive payments received on any enrolled commodities in order to receive disaster assistance from CCC. CCC will be operating a similar program in 1994, with the following changes. Section 1413.13 Eligibility The number of States and counties participating in the options program has been increased. Participating States and counties now include: (1) For corn and soybeans, Champaign, Logan, and Shelby Counties in Illinois. (2) For corn only, Carroll, Clinton, and Tippecanoe Counties in Indiana, and Boone, Grundy, and Hardin Counties in Iowa. (3) For wheat, Ford and Thomas Counties in Kansas for hard red winter wheat, and Barnes and Grand Forks Counties in North Dakota for hard red spring wheat. Wheat participation will not be available in the counties in Illinois, Indiana, and Iowa. The counties in Kansas shall use the Kansas City Board of Trade for hard red winter wheat put option contracts, and the counties in North Dakota shall use the Minneapolis Grain Exchange for hard red spring wheat put option contracts. Section 1415.15 Agreements In order to treat seed corn producers enrolled in the options program the same as if they had remained in the acreage reduction program, and to give them the same pricing flexibility as commercial corn producers, the quantity eligible for enrollment and the quantity eligible for pricing shall be based on the ratio of the program payment yield established for the crop for the farm to the actual yield produced. Producers enrolled in the options program intending to price their grain must price the grain to a licensed bonded grain dealer, grain merchant, or warehouse, or for short hedges, through a registered commodity broker. Documentation must indicate that a hedge position was taken on the grain. Section 1415.20 Premium and Incentive Payments The amount of incentive payments has been revised for 1994. Producers participating in the options program will receive an incentive payment of $.05 cents per bushel for both target price or price support participation. All producers will receive the incentive payments on a specific date when the options program contract expires instead of each producer receiving the incentive payment after closing out the option and pricing the grain. This change will reduce the motivation to close out the options position early just to receive the incentive payment. The total numbers of bushels that may be enrolled has been increased from 20 million bushels of corn to 60 million bushels of both corn and wheat. The expected cost of the program should remain essentially the same as the 1993 program because the reduced incentive payment will offset the increase in bushels accepted for participation. There continues to be no overall limit on bushels accepted for wheat and soybeans enrollment in the options program. Each county's share of this limit will be allocated based on the total corn and wheat CAB's in the county times the average of the percentage of such bases enrolled in the 1991 through 1993 CCC price support and production adjustment programs. If more bushels are enrolled than are allocated to a county, a drawing will be held to determine participants within a county. G. 7 CFR Part 1416, Voluntary Production Limitation Program The 1990 Act amended the 1949 Act to provide that, effective for the 1993 through 1995 crops of wheat and feed grains, if an ARP or a land diversion program is announced for such crops, the Secretary may conduct a pilot program in at least 15 counties in at least two States where producers have expressed an interest in participating in the pilot program. Under this program, producers on a farm shall be considered to have met the requirements of an ARP or land diversion program if such producers meet the requirements of the VPLP. After concurrence with the authors of the legislation, it was determined that the program would not be implemented until the 1994 crop year. Producers who elect to participate in the VPLP for wheat and/or feed grains shall enter into a agreement which provides that the producer shall comply with the program by: (1) Not planting wheat or feed grain crops exceeding the sum of the CAB's enrolled in the VPLP; and (2) Agreeing not to market, barter, donate, or use on the farm (including use as feed for livestock) in a marketing year a quantity of production in excess of the production limitation quantity (PLQ) and eligible carryover from prior years for the crop on the farm for the marketing year. The PLQ for a crop shall be determined by multiplying the acreage permitted to be planted to such crop under an ARP by the PLQ yield. The PLQ yield is the higher of the farm program payment yield, or the average of the yield per harvested acre for each of the 5 years preceding the crop year in which the producers first participate in the pilot program, excluding the highest and lowest crop year yields, and any year in which the crop was not planted on the farm. Carryover production is defined as eligible and ineligible carryover as follows: (1) If the crop was enrolled in the VPLP the previous year and is enrolled in the current year, the carryover production from any previous crop year is considered ineligible carryover and if marketed, bartered, donated, or used shall be counted against the PLQ for the current year, except the producer may destroy the carryover, under supervision of employees of the county ASCS office, so that no benefit will be derived from the carryover; or (2) If the crop was not enrolled in the VPLP the previous year but is enrolled in the current year, the carryover production from a previous crop year is considered eligible carryover and may be marketed, bartered, donated, or used without being counted against the PLQ for the current crop year; or (3) If the crop was enrolled in the VPLP the previous year and is enrolled in the ARP in the current year, the producer may devote an amount of acreage to conservation use equal to the excess production divided by the PLQ yield for the crop. Producers shall be considered to have complied with the terms and conditions of ARP or land diversion program for the crop, even though the acreage planted to such crop might exceed the permitted acreage and the available flex acreage under the terms and conditions of the ARP. Producers may store any quantity of the enrolled crop exceeding the PLQ for the crop for a period not to exceed 5 marketing years. Any excess commodity stored longer than 5 years is subject to forfeiture to CCC. Corn and grain sorghum permitted acreages are combined for the 1994 through 1997 crop years. A farm with both corn and grain sorghum CAB's will have the PLQ determined by multiplying the combined permitted acreages of such crops times the corn PLQ yield for the farm. If a farm has a corn CAB, and a producer on such farm plants grain sorghum; or if a farm has a grain sorghum CAB, and the producer plants corn; or if a farm has both corn and grain sorghum CAB's, these farms will have the PLQ expressed as corn equivalent bushels. An example calculation follows: (1) Corn-100 acre CAB, 100 bushel PLQ yield, permitted-100 acres. (2) Grain Sorghum-100 acre CAB, 50 bushel PLQ yield, permitted-100 acres. (3) Total permitted acres-200. 200 (permitted acres) X 100 (corn PLQ yield) = 20,000 bushels total corn equivalent PLQ. The result is the total PLQ for both crops. Grain sorghum production is converted to corn equivalent production (CE) based on a ratio of the corn PLQ yield to the grain sorghum PLQ yield for such farm. In the preceding example, the yield ratio is 2 to 1. Therefore, if the producer markets 100 bushels of corn, then 100 bushels of CE is considered marketed. If 50 bushels of grain sorghum is marketed, then 100 bushels of CE is considered marketed. The ``0/85/92'' provisions, in accordance with Sec. 1413.41, and flex provisions, as set forth in Sec. 1413.43, will not apply to farms enrolled in the VPLP. Iowa, Nebraska, and South Dakota have been selected as the States in which to conduct this pilot program. From these States, a total of 15 counties have been selected to participate in the VPLP. The proposed counties are: Fremont, Harrison, Mills, Monona, and West Pottawatamie Counties in Iowa; Adams, Furnas, Harlan, Kearney, and Phelps Counties in Nebraska; and Bon Homme, Charles Mix, Douglas, Turner, and Yankton Counties in South Dakota. It is further proposed that the following provisions will apply to the VPLP: (1) Producers who have wheat and feed grain CAB's on a farm are not required to enroll all wheat and feed grain CAB's into the VPLP; (2) The acreage for payment for which deficiency payments shall be earned shall be the smaller of the maximum payment acreage (MPA) or the acreage of the crop planted for harvest on the farm; i.e. for corn and grain sorghum, the sum of the corn and grain sorghum payment acres for a farm shall be prorated to corn and grain sorghum based on the ratio of the MPA for each crop to the total of the corn and grain sorghum MPA's; (3) The P&CP acreage for an enrolled crop shall equal the CAB of the respective crop if the crop is in compliance with the VPLP provisions; and (4) The crop acreage plantings of all enrolled crops shall be limited to the sum of the crop acreage bases for all crops enrolled in the VPLP. To ensure compliance with the provisions of the VPLP, producers participating in this pilot program will be required to certify for each enrolled crop: (1) The quantity of the previous year's commodity on hand at the beginning of the marketing year (June 1 for wheat, barley, and oats; September 1 for corn and grain sorghum); (2) The quantity of the current year commodity harvested; and (3) The quantity of the crop on hand at the end of the marketing year (May 31 for wheat, barley, and oats; August 31 for corn and grain sorghum). If the sum of number (1) and number (2) less number (3) is equal to or less than the PLQ and eligible carryover, then the producer has complied with the production limitation. Producers not complying with the production limitations will be assessed penalties on all bushels disposed of by the producer in excess of the PLQ. Graduated penalties will be assessed based on the percentage of bushels disposed of in excess of the sum of the PLQ and eligible carryover as follows: (1) 5 percent or less, the penalty is the larger of the loan rate or the current market price times the excess bushels; (2) 6 to 10 percent, the penalty is the larger of the loan rate or 1.2 times the current market price times the excess bushels; and (3) Over 10 percent, the penalty is the larger of the target price or 1.5 times the current market price times the excess bushels at the time the violation occurred. A penalty will be assessed against producers for certifying inaccurate quantities for the inventory of enrolled crop of wheat or feed grain on hand at the beginning of the marketing year, the quantity of current year crop harvested from acreage enrolled in the VPLP, and the quantity of commodities on hand at the end of the marketing year. The penalty per bushel for discrepancies will be the higher of the target price for the commodity or 1.5 times the market price for the commodity on the date of the inaccurate report. Example: corn target price = $3.00; market price on date of report = $2.90 per bu.; excess bushels of corn = 300 bu.; therefore, $3.00 times 300 bu. = $900.00. Producers on a farm who are participating in an ARP or a land diversion program may market, barter, or use excess wheat or feed grains in a year subsequent to the year they were produced, in an amount that reflects what would be expected to be produced on acreage that the producers agree to devote to approved conservation uses (in excess of any acreage reduction or land diversion requirements) during a crop year. The total current year production from enrolled wheat and feed grain crops shall be eligible for nonrecourse loans and entry into the farmer owned reserve (FOR) if the FOR becomes available. Any commodity that is forfeited to CCC is considered marketed. This interim rule establishes 7 CFR part 1416 to set forth the terms and conditions of the VPLP with which a producer must comply in order to be eligible for benefits of the wheat and feed grains programs for the 1994 and 1995 crop years. List of Subjects 7 CFR Part 718 Acreage allotments, Marketing quotas, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements. 7 CFR Parts 790 and 791 Price support programs. 7 CFR Parts 1413 and 1414 Acreage allotments, Cotton, Disaster assistance, Feed grains, Price support programs, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Rice, Soil conservation, Wheat. 7 CFR Part 1415 Acreage allotments, Appeals, Feed grains, Loan programs-- Agriculture, Price support programs, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Soil conservation. 7 CFR Part 1416 Acreage allotments, Feed grains, Loan programs--Agriculture, Penalties, Price support programs, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Soybeans, Warehouses, Wheat. Accordingly, chapters VII and XIV of the Code of Federal Regulations are amended as follows: PART 718--DETERMINATION OF ACREAGE AND COMPLIANCE 1. The authority citation for 7 CFR part 718 continues to read as follows: Authority: 7 U.S.C. 1373 and 1374; 15 U.S.C. 714b and 714c. 2. Section 718.1 is revised to read as follows: Sec. 718.1 Paperwork Reduction Act assigned number. Information collection requirements contained in this part have been approved by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) under the provisions of 44 U.S.C. 35, and assigned OMB Nos. 0560-0004 and 0560- 0092. 3. Section 718.2 is revised to read as follows: Sec. 718.2 Applicability. The provisions of this part apply to compliance determinations for the 1994 and subsequent crop years as authorized by the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938, as amended, the Agricultural Act of 1949, as amended, and the Commodity Credit Corporation Charter Act, as amended, with respect to the programs administered by the Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service, (ASCS), through State and county Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation (State and county committees) committees. 4. In Sec. 718.3, paragraph (b) is amended by removing the definitions for ``Director'' and ``Reporting date,'' and revising the definitions for ``maintenance default'', ``nonprogram crop'', ``reported acreage'', ``reporting date'', and ``standard payment reduction'' and adding definitions for ``Crop reporting and disposition date'' and ``measurement service guarantee'' to read as follows: Sec. 718.3 Definitions. * * * * * (b) * * * * * * * * Crop reporting and disposition date. Dates established by the Deputy Administrator, State and County Operations (Deputy Administrator), ASCS, representing: (1) The final date to report crop acreages; and (2) The final disposition date to dispose of excess crop acreages. The final crop disposition date shall be the earlier of: (i) The applicable final crop reporting date; or (ii) 45 days prior to the normal harvesting date unless, for an acreage of small grain only, an extension is granted in accordance with Sec. 718.22(c) of this title. Maintenance default. A failure by the producer to properly maintain acreage designated as ACR, CU for payment, or CRP as provided in parts 1413 and 1410, respectively, of this title. Measurement service guarantee. A producer who requests and pays for an authorized ASCS representative to measure acreage may use such measurement for ASCS and CCC program participation unless the producer takes action to adjust the measured acreage. If the producer has taken no such action, and the measured acreage is later discovered to be incorrect, the acreage determined pursuant to the measurement service will be used for program purposes for that program year. * * * * * Nonprogram crop. Any crop other than a program crop, ELS cotton, oilseed, industrial or other crop as provided in part 1413 of this title. * * * * * Reported acreage. The acreage reported by the farm operator, farm owner, or a properly authorized agent on form ASCS-578, Report of Acreage. * * * * * Standard payment reduction. A reduction in a producer's program benefits made pursuant to Sec. 718.22 or as provided in parts 1410 and 1413 of this title. * * * * * 5. Section 718.10 is amended by revising paragraph (a)(4) and adding paragraphs (a)(7) and (d) to read as follows: Sec. 718.10 State committee responsibilities. (a) * * * (4) Establish: (i) Disposition dates for crops that are no later than the applicable final reporting dates set forth in Sec. 718.22; (ii) Normal planting periods for crops; * * * * * (7) Adjust the per acre rate for acreage in excess of 25 acres to reflect the actual cost involved when performing measurement service from aerial slides. * * * * * (d) The cost of furnishing reproductions of aerial or other photographs, mosaics, and maps to farmers, governmental agencies, and others is as follows: (1) Free upon request to the farm operator, landowner, Federal Crop Insurance Corporation (FCIC) and reinsured companies, including their agents or adjusters, if needed for loss adjustment, Soil Conservation Service (SCS) for highly erodible land and wetland determinations, Farmers Home Administration, and other Federal or State Agencies to perform their official duties in making ASCS program determinations; (2) At the rate determined by ASCS to cover the costs of making such items available. 6. Section 718.12 is amended by revising paragraph (a)(2) and the introductory text of paragraph (b) to read as follows: Sec. 718.12 Authority for farm entry and securing information. (a) * * * (2) Secure from producers data which are necessary to keep current the farm records located in the county ASCS office or which are a requirement to obtain program benefits under any mandatory or voluntary program administered by ASCS. (b) If a farm operator, owner, or other producer refuses to permit entry for the purpose of ascertaining acreage or production or determining adherence to any other program requirement under any mandatory or voluntary program for which such determinations are required, the county executive director shall notify the farm operator in writing as soon as possible that, unless the farm operator advises the county office within 15 days after the date of such notice that such operator will permit entry and inspection on the farm and pay the cost thereof, the following consequences, as applicable, will apply until such time as the operator permits such entry and inspection: * * * * * 7. Section 718.13 is amended by revising paragraph (a)(3) to read as follows: Sec. 718.13 Denial of program benefits. (a) * * * (3) Fails to maintain acreage designated as ACR, CU for payment, or CRP as provided in parts 1413 and 1410, respectively, of this title. * * * * * 8. Section 718.21 is amended by revising paragraph (b) and adding paragraph (e) to read as follows: Sec. 718.21 Measurement services. * * * * * (b) The acreage requested to be measured by staking and referencing shall not exceed the effective farm allotment for marketing quota crops or maximum permitted acreage for program crops plus the available flex acreage with respect to other program crops enrolled in that crop's production adjustment program for that year. * * * * * (e) When a measurement service reveals acreage in excess of the permitted acreage plus the available flex acreage with respect to other program crops enrolled in that crop's production adjustment program for that year, the producer must do either of the following in order to keep the measurement service guarantee: (1) Destroy the excess acreage and pay for an authorized employee of ASCS to verify destruction, (2) Pay for measurement service for an authorized employee of ASCS to verify destruction of an acreage of another crop on the farm that is enrolled in a production adjustment program equal to the excess acreage, if such other crop acreage is within permitted acreage established for the farm for that crop. 9. Section 718.22 is revised to read as follows: Sec. 718.22 Acreage reports. (a) To be eligible for program benefits, a report of acreage shall be required for all cropland on farms that produce an agricultural commodity that includes: (1) Number of acres, (2) Land use, (3) Production, including zero production, (4) Prevented or failed acreage, (5) Crop disposition, if required according to 7 CFR 1413.21, and (6) Other program requirements. (b) The reports required under paragraph (a) of this section shall be timely filed by the farm operator, farm owner, or a duly authorized representative with the county committee by the final reporting date applicable to the crop as established by the county committee. Such final reporting dates are available at the applicable State and county ASCS offices. (c) Small grain acreage may be destroyed beyond the crop disposition date by haying or grazing provided the farm operator, prior to using or delivering for sale hay derived from such small grain acreage: (1) Requests an extension in writing by the crop disposition date; and (2) Pays a fee to cover the cost of a farm visit by an authorized ASCS employee to verify that: (i) The small grain acreage was cut for hay before reaching hard dough stage; and (ii) None of the small grain acreage was harvested as grain. (d) Acreage reports are not required to obtain burley tobacco benefits, including types: (1) 32; Maryland tobacco produced in a quota area on a farm that had a Maryland quota in effect when quotas on Maryland tobacco were in effect. (2) 41; Cigar-filler tobacco produced in Pennsylvania. (3) 61; Cigar-wrapper tobacco produced in Connecticut or Massachusetts. (4) 65; Cigar-wrapper tobacco produced in Georgia or Florida. (e) Peanut producers shall provide the county office evidence of disposition of any peanuts that are kept on the farm, including: (1) Type and quantity for use for seed on any farm in which the producer has an interest. (2) Type, quantity, names, and addresses of purchases for peanuts sold or given to others. (f) Peanut producers shall provide the county office information for acquisition of seed peanuts from other sources, including: (1) Name and address of person who sold or gave producer the peanuts. (2) Type, farmer's stock or shelled basis, and quantity. (3) Acquisition date. (g) Acreage and land use reports shall be: (1) Used to determine program eligibility and benefits. (2) On form ASCS-578, Report of Acreage. 10. Section 718.24 is amended by revising the introductory text and adding paragraphs (d), (e), (f), and (g) to read as follows: Sec. 718.24 Revised reports. The farm operator may revise a report of acreage to change the acreage reported if the county committee determines that the revision does not have an adverse impact on the program. Revised reports shall be filed and accepted: * * * * * (d) For a farm enrolled in the ARP, if the requirements of paragraph (a) of this section have been met as well as the following: (1) The producer was in compliance with all other program requirements by the earlier of the final disposition date or the established reporting date for the crop, (2) The producer met all ACR and CU for payment requirements for the crop as provided in part 1413 of this title. (e) For requests to hay and graze small grains beyond the disposition date made according to Sec. 718.22(c). (f) For excess ACR resulting from an acreage determination, the farm operator may request in writing that the excess ACR be released at any time. (g) Other acreage may be substituted for previously reported ACR if the: (1) Designated ACR is later approved for CRP acreage, or (2) The farm operator pays an inspection fee for an authorized ASCS employee to witness the destruction of hay production on an acreage that has been swathed before being designated as ACR, and all of the following conditions are met: (i) The farm is, and was, as of the final reporting date, in compliance with all eligibility and minimum size and width requirements as provided in part 1413 of this title, (ii) The acreage has not been found out of compliance through a spot check, (iii) The farm operator pays an inspection fee for an authorized ASCS employee to inspect the original and substituted acreage. A fee is not charged for substituted ACR to CRP acreage. 11. Section 718.25 (a) is revised to read as follows: Sec. 718.25 Reporting out of compliance. * * * * * (a) A program crop exceeds the sum of the maximum acreage permitted and the available flex from other participating crops in ARP, * * * * * 12. Section 718.26 is amended by revising paragraphs (a), (b)(3) through (b)(8), adding paragraphs (b)(9) and (b)(10), and revising paragraph (c) to read as follows: Sec. 718.26 Farm inspections. (a) A representative number of farms selected shall be inspected by an authorized representative of ASCS to ascertain the acreage or production, or to determine adherence to any requirement specified as a prerequisite for obtaining benefits under ARP, CRP, disaster programs, and highly erodible and wetland provisions under part 12 of this title. (b) * * * (3) A farm on which the county committee determines an estimate of production is needed to properly administer the program for any marketing quota crop. (4) A farm for which an acreage report shows nonquota tobacco produced in a State where marketing quotas are in effect for any kind of tobacco. (5) Farms that have an effective flue-cured tobacco allotment. (6) Farms on which there is unmarketed tobacco. (7) Farms on which no tobacco is grown that have zero effective allotment for dark air-cured and fire-cured tobacco. (8) A farm for which a review of the production evidence submitted by the operator indicates that: (i) Data is not valid, (ii) Reported production is not reasonable when compared to other farms in the area. (9) Farms for which production evidence is submitted to document farm and warehouse stored production, actual yields, and ginner and buyer records. (10) Farms for which an ASCS-574, Application for Disaster Credit, is filed for prevented or failed acreage credit. (c) County offices may conduct additional farm inspections when evidence indicates possible noncompliance with any requirement specified as a prerequisite for obtaining program benefits. 13. Section 718.40 is amended by revising paragraphs (d)(1), (d)(2), and (e)(1) to read as follows: Sec. 718.40 Tolerance and variance rules applicability. * * * * * (d) * * * (1) For individual crop acreages or program requirements, except for tobacco, the larger of 1.0 acre or 5 percent of the reported acreage, but not to exceed 50 acres. (2) For farms with corn and grain sorghum crop acreage bases that are enrolled in a production adjustment program, the larger of 1.0 acre or 5 percent of the combined reported acreage, not to exceed 50 acres. * * * * * (e) With respect to: (1) Individual crop acreages or program requirements, except for tobacco, the applicable requirements shall be considered to have been met if: (i) The determined acreage for each crop does not differ from the reported acreage by more than the tolerance, and (ii) A determination of good faith has been made by the county committee. * * * * * 14. Section 718.42 is amended by revising paragraph (b)(2) and adding paragraph (b)(3) to read as follows: Sec. 718.42 Skip rows and strip crops. * * * * * (b) * * * (2) If the distance between the rows is 32 inches or wider and the strips of idle land are at least 60 inches but less than 64 inches, the producer has the option to consider the crop as either solid planted or skip row if the producer has a history of planting 32-inch or wider rows. (3) The COC shall determine history of 32-inch or wider rows by verifying that cotton acreage has been planted in 32-inch or wider rows in past years and reported: (i) On the acreage report, (ii) To FCIC, (iii) To other State or Federal Agencies. * * * * * 15. Section 718.43 is amended by revising paragraphs (a)(2) and (a)(3), redesignating paragraph (b) as (c), adding new paragraph (b) and revising the newly designated paragraph (c) to read as follows: Sec. 718.43 Deductions. (a) * * * (2) For tobacco, three-hundredths acre, except that turn areas, terraces, permanent irrigation and drainage ditches, sod waterways, noncropland, and subdivision boundaries each of which is at least 30 inches (approximately 3.8 links) in width may be combined to meet the 0.03-acre minimum requirement. (3) For all other crops and land uses, one-tenth acre. Turn areas, terraces, permanent irrigation and drainage ditches, sod waterways, noncropland, and subdivision boundaries each of which is at least 30 inches (approximately 3.8 links) in width and each of which contain 0.1 acre or more may be combined to meet any larger minimum prescribed for a State in accordance with Sec. 718.10(b). (b) If the area not devoted to the crop or land use is located within the planted area, then consider the part of any perimeter area that is more than 33 links in width to be an internal deduction if the standard deduction is used. (c) A standard deduction of three percent of the area devoted to a row crop and zero percent of the area devoted to a close-sown crop may be used in lieu of measuring the acreage of turn areas. The COC may use, upon approval by the STC, a different percentage when the three percent or zero percent deduction does not adequately reflect the normal cultural practice in the county. 16. Section 718.45 is revised to read as follows: Sec. 718.45 Notice of measured acreage. Written notice of measured acreage shall be on form ASCS-468, Notice of Determined Acreage and shall constitute notice to all interested producers on the farm. The county committee shall furnish such notice to each farm operator when a farm is measured, remeasured, or checked for adjustment credit. 17. Section 718.46 is revised to read as follows: Sec. 718.46 Producer reliance on previous determinations. If, in reporting an acreage, a producer relies in good faith on an acreage previously determined for that crop year by an employee of ASCS (except acreage determined from data furnished by the producer) and the acreage is subsequently determined by the county committee to be incorrect, the county committee shall consider the acreage on which the producer relied to be correct for that program year upon obtaining satisfactory proof from the producer that such producer relied in good faith upon the incorrect determination. However, the county committee may use the correct data if the producer would be adversely affected by an error in producer service provided under Sec. 718.21. 18. Section 718.47 is amended by revising paragraphs (a), (b)(1)(i), and (b)(1)(ii) to read as follows, and removing paragraph (d). Sec. 718.47 Redeterminations. (a) A redetermination of crop and land use, acreage, appraised yield, or farm-stored production for a farm may be initiated by the county committee, State committee, or Deputy Administrator at any time. Such redeterminations may also be initiated by a producer who has an interest in the farm upon filing a request within 15 days after the date of the notice furnished the farm operator in accordance with Sec. 718.44 or within five days after the initial appraisal of the yield of a crop or before any of the farm-stored production is removed from storage and upon payment of the cost of making such redetermination. A redetermination shall be undertaken in the manner prescribed by the Deputy Administrator. Such redetermination shall be used in lieu of any prior determination. (b) The county committee shall refund the payment of the cost for a redetermination when, because of an error in the initial determination: (1)* * * (i) Five percent or five pounds for cotton; (ii) Five percent or one bushel for wheat, barley, oats, and rye; * * * * * 19. Part 790 is revised to read as follows: PART 790--INCOMPLETE PERFORMANCE BASED UPON ACTION OR ADVICE OF AN AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVE OF THE SECRETARY Sec. 790.1 Applicability. 790.2 Action. 790.3 Delegation of authority. 790.4 Filing of request for consideration. Authority: Sec. 326, 76 Stat. 631, 77 Stat. 47, 79 Stat. 1192; 7 U.S.C. 1339a. Sec. 790.1 Applicability. This part is applicable to all programs set forth in title 7 that are administered by the Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service, hereinafter referred to as ``ASCS'' under which benefits are extended or payments are made to farmers. Sec. 790.2 Action. (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, performance rendered in good faith based upon action of or information provided by any authorized representative of a County Committee or State Committee, as defined in part 719 of this chapter, may be accepted by the Administrator, ASCS (Executive Vice President, CCC), the Associate Administrator, ASCS (Vice President, CCC), or the Deputy Administrator, State and County Operations, ASCS (Vice President, CCC), as meeting the requirements of the applicable program, and benefits may be extended or payments may be made therefor in accordance with such action or advice to the extent it is deemed desirable in order to provide fair and equitable treatment. (b) The provisions of this part shall be applicable only if a producer relied upon the action of a county or State committee or an authorized representative of such committee or took action based on information provided by such representative. The authority provided in this part does not extend to cases where the producer knew or had sufficient reason to know that the action or advice of the committee or its authorized representative upon which they relied was improper or erroneous, or where the producer acted in reliance on their own misunderstanding or misinterpretation of program provisions, notices, or advice. Sec. 790.3 Delegation of authority. The State committee may, in accordance with instructions issued by the Deputy Administrator, State and County Operations (DASCO), exercise the authority provided in this part in programs administered by the ASCS in cases where the total of any payments and benefits extended under this part does not exceed $5,000. Sec. 790.4 Filing of request for consideration. (a) Any person who feels that they are entitled to consideration under the provisions of this part may file a request with the county committee, or (b) the county committee may submit a request for consideration to the State committee without a specific request from the producer when the county committee believes that the producer is entitled to consideration under the provisions of this part. 20. Part 791 is revised to read as follows: PART 791--AUTHORITY TO MAKE PAYMENTS WHEN THERE HAS BEEN A FAILURE TO COMPLY FULLY WITH THE PROGRAM Sec. 791.1 Applicability. 791.2 The making of loans, purchases, and payments when there has been a failure to fully comply with the program. 791.3 Delegation of authority. Authority: Sec. 602, 79 Stat. 1206, 7 U.S.C. 1838; sec. 379b, 84 Stat. 1362, 7 U.S.C. 1379b; sec. 105, 84 Stat. 1368, 7 U.S.C. 1441 note; sec. 103, 84 Stat. 1374, 7 U.S.C 1444. Sec. 791.1 Applicability. This part is applicable to the wheat, feed grain, cotton, and rice programs, and to all other programs to which this part is made applicable by individual program regulations. Sec. 791.2 The making of loans, purchases, and payments when there has been a failure to fully comply with the program. In any case in which the failure of a producer to comply fully with the terms and conditions of any program to which this part is applicable precludes the making of loans, purchases, or payments, the Deputy Administrator, State and County Operations (DASCO), Deputy Administrator, Commodity Operations (DACO), and National Appeals Division (NAD), may, nevertheless, authorize the making of such loans, purchases, or payments in such amounts as determined to be equitable in relation to the seriousness of the failure. The provisions of this part shall be applicable only to producers who are determined to have made a good faith effort to comply fully with the terms and conditions of the program and rendered substantial performance. Any person who feels that he or she is entitled to consideration under the provisions of this part may file a request with the county committee. Sec. 791.3 Delegation of authority. The authority contained in Sec. 791.2 of this title may be redelegated in whole or in part. 21. Part 1413 is revised to read as follows: PART 1413--FEED GRAIN, RICE, UPLAND AND EXTRA LONG STAPLE COTTON, WHEAT AND RELATED PROGRAMS Subpart A--General Provisions Sec. 1413.1 Applicability. 1413.2 Compliance with part 12 of this title, highly erodible land and wetland conservation provisions. 1413.3 Controlled substance violations. 1413.4 Administration. 1413.5 Performance based upon advice or action of County or State Committee. 1413.6 Appeals. 1413.7 Paperwork Reduction Act assigned numbers. Subpart B--Definition of Terms Used in This Part 1413.8 Definitions. Subpart C--Planted and Considered Planted Acreages 1413.10 Planted crop acreages. 1413.11 Considered planted acreages. 1413.12--1413.14 [Reserved] Subpart D--Farm Program Yields 1413.15 Farm program payment yields. 1413.16 Establishing crop yields for soybeans and minor oilseeds. 1413.17 Historical Weighted Yields (HWY). 1413.18 Irrigated Acreage Maximum (IAM) for determining HWY's. 1413.19 Submitting production evidence. 1413.20 Reducing yields. Subpart E--Crop Acreage Bases 1413.24 Crop acreage bases. 1413.25 Participation in Conservation Reserve Program. 1413.26 Adjusting CAB's. 1413.27 Conservation compliance CAB exchanges. 1413.28--1413.29 [Reserved] 1413.30 Reconstitution of farms. 1413.31 Notice of CAB's and yields. Subpart F--Extra Long Staple Cotton Crop Acreage Bases and Yields 1413.34 ELS cotton counties. 1413.35 ELS cotton CAB's. 1413.36 ELS cotton program payment yields. 1413.37 Submitting ELS cotton production evidence. Subpart G--Program Options 1413.41 0/85/92 program provisions for wheat and feed grains. 1413.42 50/85/92 program provisions for upland cotton and rice. 1413.43 Planting flexibility. Subpart H--Program Agreement and Enrollment Provisions 1413.50 Requirements for program participation. 1413.51 Successors in interest. 1413.52 Misrepresentation and scheme or device. 1413.53 Required acreage reduction. 1413.54 Acreage reduction program provisions. 1413.55 Land diversion. Subpart I--Acreage Conservation Reserve and Conserving Use for Payment Provisions 1413.60 Basic rules for ACR and CU for payment acreage. 1413.61 Eligible land for ACR and CU for payment designation. 1413.62 Ineligible land for ACR and CU for payment designation. 1413.63 Required cover crops and practices on ACR. 1413.64 Nationally approved cover crops and practices for ACR and CU for payment acreages. 1413.65 Locally approved cover crops and practices for ACR and CU for payment acreages. 1413.66 Use of ACR and CU for payment acreage. 1413.67 Control of erosion, insects, weeds, and rodents on ACR and CU for payment acreage. 1413.68 Orchards. 1413.69 Land going out of agricultural production. 1413.70 Wildlife food plots or habitat. 1413.71 Insufficient ACR acreage. 1413.72 Destroyed crop acreage. 1413.73 [Reserved] 1413.74 Reduction in ACR. 1413.75 Skip rows. Subpart J--Payment Provisions 1413.100 Determination of farm payment acreage. 1413.101 General payment provisions. 1413.102 Advance payments. 1413.103 Established (target) prices. 1413.104 Deficiency payments. 1413.105 Timing and calculation of deficiency payments. 1413.106 Division of payments. 1413.107 Provisions relating to tenants and sharecroppers. 1413.108 Offsets and assignments. 1413.109 Payments by commodities and commodity certificates and refunds. 1413.110 Malting barley. Subpart K--Prevented Planting and Failed Acreage Credit 1413.121 Disaster credit. 1413.122 Eligibility for regular prevented planting and reduced yield payments. 1413.123 Regular disaster payment computations. Authority: 7 U.S.C. 1308, 1308a, 1309, 1441-2, 1444-2, 1444f, 1445b-3a, 1461-1469; 15 U.S.C. 714b and 714c. Subpart A--General Provisions Sec. 1413.1 Applicability. The regulations in this part applicable to the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) 1994 and 1995 feed grain, rice, extra long staple (ELS), and wheat programs, and the 1994 through 1997 upland cotton programs. Producers of these commodities who enter into agreements with the CCC and fully comply with the terms of such agreements and the provisions of this part are eligible for program benefits. The programs are conducted throughout the United States, including Puerto Rico. Sec. 1413.2 Compliance with part 12 of this title, highly erodible land and wetland conservation provisions. Whenever a producer, or a person affiliated with such producer, is determined to be ineligible in accordance with part 12 of this title, such producer shall be ineligible for any payments under this part and shall refund any payments already received in accordance with Sec. 1413.101(f). Sec. 1413.3 Controlled substance violations. In accordance with the regulations in part 796 of this title, payments shall not be made to program participants who are convicted of planting, cultivating, growing, producing, harvesting or storing a controlled substance as defined in part 796. Sec. 1413.4 Administration. (a) The programs are administered under the general supervision of the Administrator, Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service (ASCS) and shall be carried out in the field by State and county Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation committees (herein called ``State and county committees''). (b) State and county committees, and representatives and employees thereof, do not have authority to modify or waive any of the provisions of the regulations of this part. (c) The State committee shall take any action required by these regulations which 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 which is not in accordance with the regulations of this part, or (2) Require a county committee to withhold taking any action which is not in accordance with the regulation of this part. (d) No provision or delegation herein to a State or county committee shall preclude the Administrator, ASCS, 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. (e) The Deputy Administrator may authorize State and county committees to waive or modify deadlines and other program requirements in cases where lateness or failure to meet such other requirements does not affect adversely the operation of the program. (f) A representative of CCC may execute a CCC-477, Intention to Participate in the 1995 Price Support and Production Adjustment Programs only under the terms and conditions determined and announced by the Executive Vice President, CCC. Any CCC-477 which is not executed in accordance with such terms and conditions, including any purported execution prior to the date authorized by the Executive Vice President, CCC, shall be null and void and shall not be considered to be an agreement between CCC and the operator and any other producer on the farm. Sec. 1413.5 Performance based upon advice or action of County or State Committee. The provisions of part 791 of this title with respect to performance based upon action or advice of any authorized representative of the Secretary shall be applicable to this part. Sec. 1413.6 Appeals. (a) A producer enrolled in the programs conducted in accordance with this part may obtain reconsideration and review of any determination made under this part in accordance with the appeal regulations found at part 780 of this title. (b) With respect to farm program payment yields, determinations made before December 23, 1985, are not appealable. Sec. 1413.7 Paperwork Reduction Act assigned numbers. The information collection requirements contained in these regulations have been approved by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) under the provisions of 44 U.S.C. 35, and assigned OMB Nos. 0560- 0004 and 0560-0092. Subpart B--Definitions of Terms Used in This Part Sec. 1413.8 Definitions. The definitions set forth in this section shall be applicable for all purposes of program administration. The terms defined in part 719 of this title governing the reconstitution of farms shall also be applicable, except where those definitions conflict with the definitions set forth in this section. Acreage conservation reserve (ACR) means the acreage which is required to be taken out of production and maintained according to Sec. 1413.67. Acreage for payment means the acreage used to compute deficiency payments for the crop for the farm as determined in accordance with Sec. 1413.104 (d) and (e). Acreage reduction program (ARP) means a land retirement system in which participating producers agree not to plant a specified number of acres for cotton, feed grains, rice, and wheat in a program year in return for the right to obtain deficiency payments, price support loans, and other program benefits. Actual ELS cotton yield per acre means the acceptable net production divided by harvested acreage for the year. Approved nonprogram crops (ANPC) means specified crops of dry peas (Austrian peas, wrinkled seed, green, yellow, and umatilla) and lentils, that producers are allowed to plant and harvest and receive planted and considered planted credit on up to 20 percent of wheat or feed grain crop acreage base, but not on acreage that is part of a rice or upland cotton acreage base. Conserving uses (CU) means all uses during a year of cropland as defined in part 719 of this title except for: (1) Acreage of crops planted for harvest or use during the current crop year, which shall include: (i) A crop of rice, upland cotton, feed grains, wheat, or ELS cotton; (ii) A crop of oilseeds; (iii) Any nonprogram crop; (iv) IOC's; (v) Any crop for which price support is available through loans and purchases in accordance with chapter XIV of this title; and (vi) Any acreage which is harvested for green chop, hay, forage, silage, or haylage in a State where the State committee, after consulting with interested parties, has determined that haying of conserving use acreage designated to a program crop for payment purposes under Sec. 1413.104 shall not be permitted. (2) Acreage which is not available to be cropped in the current year because: (i) Of a contract under the Water Bank Program in accordance with part 752 of this title; (ii) Of an agreement under the Great Plains Conservation Program in accordance with part 631 of this title; (iii) Of a contract under the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) in accordance with part 704 of this title; (iv) The acreage is designated as ACR acreage for the current year; or (v) The acreage is subject to a restrictive easement which prohibits its use for program crops. (3) Any land which the producer was prevented from planting to a crop of rice, upland or ELS cotton, feed grains, or wheat and which is considered as planted to such crop for the purpose of computing crop acreage bases (CAB's); (4) Any acreage which is determined to be ineligible in accordance with Sec. 1413.62; and (5) Any other acreage which is not available to be cropped in the current year and which is excluded in accordance with Sec. 1413.43. Corn means field corn or sterile high-sugar corn. Popcorn, corn nuts, blue corn, sweet corn, and corn varieties grown for decoration uses are excluded. Cotton means upland cotton and ELS cotton meeting the definition set forth in the definitions of ``upland cotton'' and ``extra long staple (ELS)'' cotton in this section, respectively, and excludes cotton not meeting such definitions. Current year means the program year in which the crop with respect to which payment may be made under this part would normally be harvested, or the program year for which a CAB or yield is being determined or other action being taken, which may not be the same as the calendar year in which action is taken. Custom farming means performing services such as land preparation, seeding, cultivating, applying agricultural chemicals, and harvesting for hire with renumeration on a unit-of-work basis excluding: (1) Harvesting by an entity engaged in such business; (2) Applying agricultural chemicals by an entity regularly engaged in such business; (3) Establishing enduring conservation measures, such as land leveling, terracing, ditching, and tree planting performed by an entity regularly engaged in such business. Determined acreage means the acreage determined in accordance with 7 CFR part 718. If the acreage is not selected for spot-check and determined in accordance with 7 CFR part 718, the determined acreage shall be the reported acreage for program purposes. Disaster means: (1) A condition affecting a crop to cause prevented planting or failed acreage of such crop, such as drought, excessive moisture, hail, earthquake, freeze, tornado, hurricane, typhoon, volcano, excessive wind, excessive heat, or any combination thereof; (2) Related conditions of insect infestation, plant disease, or other deterioration of such crop, including aflatoxin, that is accelerated or exerbated naturally because of damaging weather occurring before or during harvest; and (3) Flooding within flood or flowage easement areas. Farm program payment yield means the yield for the crop for the farm which is determined by the county committee in accordance with Sec. 1413.15 adjusted to reflect any determinations made with respect to such yield in accordance with part 780 of this title. The 1985 farm program payment yield means: (1) The yield for the crop for the farm which was determined by the county committee in accordance with the regulations in this part which were applicable for the 1985 crop year; or (2) The yield for the crop for the farm which is determined in accordance with Sec. 1413.15 if no yield was determined for the crop for the farm for the 1985 crop year. Farming operations and practices means the integration of crops and crop-plant variety selection, rotation practices, tillage systems, soil conserving and soil building practices, nutrient management strategies, biological control and integrated pest management strategies, livestock production and management systems, animal waste management systems, water and energy conservation measures, and health and safety considerations. Final disposition date means the date or time by which an acreage of barley, wheat, oilseeds, or oats must be disposed of in order that such acreage will not be considered as barley, wheat, oats, or oilseeds for harvest or by which an acreage of rye or similar grain must be disposed of in order for the acreage to qualify as ACR acreage in accordance with Sec. 1413.63 or as a conserving or conservation use. Grain sorghum means grain sorghum of a feed grain or dual purpose variety (including any cross which, at all stages of growth, has most of the characteristics of a feed grain or dual purpose variety). Sweet sorghum is excluded regardless of use. High residue program crop (HRC) means a crop of barley, corn, grain sorghum, oats, and wheat that is not harvested for silage. Industrial and other crops (IOC's) are: castor beans, chia, crambe, crotalaria, cuphea, guar, guayule, hesperaloe, kenaf, lesquerella, meadowfoam, milkweed, plantago ovato, and sesame, or other crops as designated by the Secretary. Individual State ASC Committees may remove individual crops of IOC's from the list permitted in such State. Landlord means an individual, entity, or joint operation that rents or leases land to another individual, entity, or joint operation according to 7 CFR part 719. Low residue crop (LRC) means a crop of barley, corn, grain sorghum, oats, or wheat that has been harvested for silage, and cotton. A crop of soybeans is considered a low residue crop. Marketing year means the 12-month period beginning in the current year and ending the next year as follows: (1) For barley, oats, and wheat, June 1 through May 31. (2) For cotton and rice, August 1 through July 31. (3) For corn and grain sorghum, September 1 through August 31. Maximum payment acres for wheat, feed grains, upland cotton, and rice means 85 percent of the crop acreage base for the crop for the farm less the required ACR. Minor means an individual who is not at least 18 years of age on or before the status date, as established by part 1497 of this title, of the current calendar year. Minor oilseeds means acreages of sunflowers, safflowers, mustard seed, flaxseed, rapeseed, and canola that are planted for harvest as seed, or volunteer acreages of such crops from which the seed is harvested. Nonprogram crop means any crop other than a program crop, ELS cotton, oilseed, or IOC as determined in accordance with this section. Nonrotation means the planted and considered planted acreage of a crop that is generally consistent in every year on a farm. Operator means an individual, entity, or joint operation that is in general control of the farming operations on the farm during the program year, as determined in accordance with 7 CFR part 719. Other cotton means pure strain varieties of the barbadense species, any hybrid thereof, or any other variety of cotton in which one or more of these varieties predominate, if either of the following applies: (1) The cotton is grown in a county that has not been designated as an ELS cotton county; or (2) The cotton is ginned on other than roller-type gins. Permitted acres for wheat, feed grains, upland and ELS cotton, and rice means the CAB minus the required ACR. Person means an individual, joint stock company, corporation, estate or trust, association, or other legal entity, except that two or more entities shall be combined as one person in accordance with: (1) The regulations found at part 1497 of this chapter for the purpose of administering maximum payment limitation provisions of the Food Security Act of 1985; (2) The regulations found at part 796 of this title for the purpose of administering the provisions of the Food Security Act of 1985 with respect to the production of controlled substances; and (3) The regulations found at part 12 of this title pertaining to the highly erodible land and wetland provisions (commonly known as ``sodbuster and swampbuster'' provisions) of the Food Security Act of 1985. Producer means an individual, entity, or joint operation that shares in the risk of producing the crop, and is entitled to share in the crops available for marketing from the farm, or would have shared had the crops been produced. Program benefits means loans, purchases, and payments authorized for a program crop. Program crop means a crop of wheat, corn, grain sorghum, oats, barley, upland cotton, and rice. Repeat crop means the same crop planted, harvested, and planted again on the same acreage. A second crop must be planted to be a repeat crop. Volunteer crops are not repeat crops. Rice means rice excluding sweet, glutinous, or candy rice such as Mochi Gomi. Sharecropper means a producer who: (1) Performs work concerning the production of a crop under the supervision of the operator; and (2) Receives a share of the crop for labor. Small grains means barley, oats, wheat, and rye. Soybeans means any variety of soybeans, except laredo and edamame, which is planted regardless of the intended use. Tenant means an: (1) Individual, entity, or joint operation, usually called a cash tenant, fixed-rent tenant, or standing-rent tenant, who rents land from another for a fixed amount of cash or a fixed amount of a commodity to be paid as rent; (2) Individual, entity, or joint operation, usually called a share tenant, who rents land from another individual, entity, or joint operation and pays as rent a share of the crop or the proceeds thereof. Upland cotton means planted and stub cotton which is produced from other than pure strain varieties of the Barbadense species, any hybrid thereof, or any other variety of cotton in which one or more of these varieties predominate. For program purposes, brown lint cotton is considered upland cotton. Subpart C--Planted and Considered Planted Acreages Sec. 1413.10 Planted crop acreages. (a) The county committee shall apply the guidelines in paragraphs (b) and (c) of this section in determining crop acreages planted for harvest. (b) The county committee shall include as crop acreage planted for harvest any of the following: (1) The acreage harvested; (2) The acreage of small grains which was not disposed of before the disposal deadline in accordance with 7 CFR part 718.22(c), unless an extension has been granted for the crop on the farm by the county committee; and (3) The acreage of small grains which was disposed of before the disposal deadline if such acreage qualified for a reduced yield payment in accordance with the provisions of Secs. 1413.122 and 1413.123 or failed acreage credit in accordance with the provisions of Sec. 1413.121; (4) Volunteer acreage of a crop that is harvested; (5) Minor oilseed acreage that is planted for harvest as seed or a volunteer acreage of such oilseed crop from which the seed is harvested; and (6) An acreage planted to oilseeds which is not disposed of before the disposal date established for such a crop. (c) The county committee shall exclude as crop acreage planted for harvest any of the following: (1) The acreage which failed and could have been replanted by the final planting date established for the crop by Federal Crop Insurance Corporation (FCIC), according to part 400 of this title, but which was not replanted; (2) The acreage that is approved as ACR acreage in accordance with the provisions of Secs. 1413.59 through 1413.75; (3) The acreage which was disposed of without feed or other benefit (including lint benefit for cotton) and excluded by the operator on the report of acreage as provided in part 718 of this title; (4) The acreage which was approved for wildlife food plots or planted for wildlife in accordance with Sec. 1413.70; (5) The acreage that was planted so late that it could not mature and produce grain or lint and, with respect to corn and grain sorghum, was not harvested for silage; (6)(i) Any acreage which is planted for experimental purposes under the direct supervision of a State experimental station or a commercial company and which meets the following requirements: (A) The production is: (1) Destroyed before harvest; (2) Used for testing or other experimental purposes; or (3) Donated to a wildlife agency and certified by a representative from such agency as to the amount of production donated. (B) A representative from the State experimental station or the commercial company certifies that any production harvested from the experimental acreage will not be marketed in any form. (C) The producer certifies that no harvested production of the crop has or will be received by such producer. (D) By the final reporting date for such crop, the producer: (1) Reports the acreage of the crop to be excluded; (2) Identifies the acreage of the crop on a land photocopy for reference; and (3) Pays for a farm visit by a county committee representative, according to part 718 of this title, to verify how the crop was used. (ii) Acreages planted to program crops for experimental purposes shall not be eligible for designation as ACR, CU for planted and considered planted credit and CU for payment, or any other planted and considered planted purpose. (7) The acreage of barley, oats, wheat, or rice which is left standing as a cover crop past the disposal deadline according to Sec. 1413.63 if the producer: (i) Requests from the county committee, in writing, permission to allow such crop to be left standing before the crop reporting date; (ii) Destroys the crop mechanically if the crop does not deteriorate before the end of the nongrazing period so that no benefit can be derived from the grain; (iii) Does not obtain feed benefit from the crop; and (iv) Pays the cost of a farm visit by a representative of the county committee to determine compliance with program requirements for disposal of the crop; (8) Any acreage designated under the CRP in accordance with part 704 of this title; and (9) Any crop acreage on a farm which is planted by a producer with no intent to harvest. (d) The county committee shall consider mixtures of crops to be the crop that is predominant in the mixture, except when corn or grain sorghum is mixed with another crop in the same row, the mixture shall be considered to be corn or grain sorghum, as applicable. Sec. 1413.11 Considered planted acreages. Considered planted acreage for a crop means the following: (a) With respect to the 1994 and subsequent crop years, the sum of the following except that for farms enrolled in an acreage reduction or land diversion program for the crop, the planted and considered planted shall be limited to the CAB for each crop for the crop year: (1) Any acreage devoted to ACR for the crop under an acreage reduction, or land diversion program as set forth in this part or any other part; (2) The acreage determined to be intended to be planted to the crop but which was prevented from being planted to the crop because of drought, flood, other natural disaster, or quarantine in accordance with Sec. 1413.121; (3) For farms on which producers are participating in an ARP for the crop, the acreage of crops designated for planted and considered planted purposes and CU credited to the crop in accordance with Sec. 1413.100; (4) For farms on which the ACR acreage has been reduced in accordance with Sec. 1413.74, the smaller of the following: (i) The amount of the reduction in ACR acreage; or (ii) The acreage of cropland on the farm which is not considered as being planted to a program crop under any other provision of this part; (5) For farms for which there is a CRP contract in effect, an acreage equal to the amount by which any CAB is reduced in accordance with Sec. 1413.25 due to participation in the CRP in accordance with part 704 of this title. (6) For program crops for which the acreage report filed in accordance with part 718 of this title reflects zero acreage of the program crop and which are not participating in an acreage reduction, or land diversion program for the crop, the planted and considered planted crop acreage shall equal the CAB of the crop. If the zero acreage report provision is requested by the operator, such provision cannot be used to increase the CAB for other crops on a farm. (i) Producers growing fruits and vegetables, except for green manure, haying, and grazing, as specified in Sec. 1413.43, must not have planted or have been prevented from being planted in excess of normal plantings of such crops for the farm. The cropping history for fruits and vegetables shall be based on the higher of the farm's history of planting such crops in the last year or 3 years preceding the current year. Zero report provisions will be permitted only if the current year acreage of fruits and vegetables for other than green manure, haying, or grazing, is equal to or less than the farm's history for the last year or the 3 years preceding the current year. (ii) Planted and considered planted acreage of other nonparticipating crops planted in excess of such crop's CAB will be reduced, if the total planted and considered planted acreage exceeds the cropland for the farm. (7) For program crops for which the acreage report filed in accordance with part 718 of this title reflects zero acreage of the program crop and which are not participating in an acreage reduction, or land diversion program for the crop, CU acreage may be used to receive planted and considered planted credit for the crop. (8) Any acreage devoted to approved nonprogram crops (ANPC), not to exceed 20 percent of a wheat or feed grain CAB, but not rice, ELS cotton, or upland cotton, if the acreage is planted to dry peas (limited to Austrian peas, wrinkled seed, green, yellow, and umatilla) and lentils; (9) Acreage that is an amount equal to the difference between program crop permitted acreage and planted acreage, if the considered planted acreage is devoted to conservation uses, or the production of commodities permitted under Secs. 1413.41 and 1413.42; (10) Acreage that is an amount equal to the difference between program crop permitted acreage and planted acreage, if the considered planted acreage is devoted to the production of commodities as permitted by Sec. 1413.43. Both acreages of double-cropped program crops, oilseeds, and IOC's used on flex acreage will be used for planted and considered planted acreage. (b) With respect to farms owned by the Farmers Home Administration (FmHA), in 1991 and subsequent crop years, an acreage equal to the CAB established for the farm in accordance with Sec. 1413.24. (c) The sum of the planted and considered planted acreage of corn and grain sorghum for each crop year shall be prorated to corn and grain sorghum based on the ratio of the CAB for the individual crop of corn or grain sorghum, as applicable, to the sum of the CAB's for corn and grain sorghum established for each crop year. Subpart D--Farm Program Yields Sec. 1413.15 Farm program payment yields. (a) The bushel or pound per acre farm program payment yield for program crops for the 1994 through 1997 crop years shall be the 1990 farm program payment yield established for the crop for the farm. (b) If the 1990 farm program payment yield established for a crop for a farm was less than 90 percent of the 1985 farm program payment yield for such crop, the deficiency payments for the crop shall be increased by the amount necessary to provide the same total return to producers as if the payment yield had not been reduced more than 10 percent below the 1985 program payment yield. (c) If no farm program payment yield for a crop was established for the 1990 crop year, the county committee may assign a yield for any such year based upon the farm program payment yields for such crops for at least 3 similar farms in the county or other surrounding area with similar yield capability, including land and cultural practices, not including irrigation practices for feed grains and wheat. Sec. 1413.16 Establishing yields for soybeans and minor oilseeds. (a) State ASC Committees shall establish yields for soybeans and minor oilseeds. Such yields shall be used for: (1) Calculating failure to fully comply reductions in accordance with part 791 of this title; and (2) Price support purposes, in accordance with part 1421 of this chapter. (b) State committees shall calculate soybean and minor oilseed yields as follows: (1) Such yield shall be based on the county yield determined by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) for the preceding 5 crop years; (2) The highest and lowest yield in such 5-year period shall be excluded; and (3) The remaining 3 crop year yields shall be averaged. (c) If a county yield is not available from NASS for the 5 preceding years for a crop of soybeans or minor oilseeds, State committees shall calculate the yields using the following data: (1) State or area yields determined by NASS for the 5 preceding crop years, calculated as provided in paragraphs (a)(1) through (3) of this section. (2) If neither State or area yields for the 5 preceding years are available from NASS, yields from FmHA for such years. (3) If such yields are not available from FmHA, data for such yields from other government entities, such as Extension Service (ES). (4) If no yield information is available from the sources listed in paragraphs (c) (1) through (3) of this section, obtain yields from other available sources. Sec. 1413.17 Historical weighted yields (HWY). If separate irrigated and nonirrigated farm crop program payment yields were established for the 1990 crop on a farm, the program payment yield for such crop for the 1994 through 1997 crop years shall be a HWY that is determined by: (a) Multiplying the smaller of the effective irrigated acreage maximum (IAM) determined according to Sec. 1413.18 or the CAB times the 1990 irrigated farm program payment yield for the crop; (b) Subtracting the IAM from the current year CAB and multiplying the result, not less than zero, times the 1990 nonirrigated farm program payment yield for such crop; and (c) Totaling the results of subparagraphs (a) and (b) of this section and dividing by the current year effective CAB. If the result is zero, the HWY yield is the 1990 nonirrigated program payment yield for the crop. Sec. 1413.18 Irrigated acreage maximum (IAM) for determining HWY's. (a) General. The farm IAM represents the maximum acreage for which deficiency payments using the irrigated payment yield will be computed. Except as otherwise provided in this section, the IAM for the farm shall not be changed for the 1994 through 1997 crop years. (b) Calculation. The calculated farm IAM is the sum of the crop IAM's calculated as follows: (1) Base period. The calculated crop IAM shall be computed, at the producer's option, on the basis of either the sum of the 1988, 1989, or 1990 irrigated planted and CU for payment acreages on the farm or the result of the 1991 CAB multiplied by the result of dividing the 1988, 1989, or 1990 irrigated planted and CU for payment acreages by the sum of the irrigated and nonirrigated planted and CU for payment acreages for the same year. (2) Base period for rotation farms. If 1 or more crops are produced on a farm in a 2-year rotation, the producer has the option of using the 1991 CAB and the 1990, 1989, and 1987 years or the 1992 projected CAB and the years 1990, 1988, and 1986 for the computations explained above. If 1 or more crops are produced on a farm in a 3-year rotation, the producer has the option of using the 1991 CAB and the 1990, 1988, and 1985 years or 1992 projected CAB and the years 1990, 1989, and 1986 years or 1993 projected CAB and the years 1990, 1987, and 1984 years for the computations explained above. (3) Calculations for farms enrolled in the CRP. Appropriate adjustments in the IAM calculation shall be made to reflect the amount of irrigated cropland enrolled in the CRP and the amount of reduction in CAB required by the CRP contract. (4) Calculations for FmHA inventory farms. If a farm was in FmHA inventory prior to 1991 and had irrigated program crops prior to 1988, the county committee may approve adjustments to the farm IAM upon request from FmHA, operator, or owner. IAM calculations shall be based on substituting the most recent years the farm was not in FmHA inventory for the years the farm was in inventory. (c) Allocation of IAM's to crops. If a farm has more than 1 irrigated crop, and the effective IAM for the crop exceeds the effective CAB for the crop, the operator and owners have the option to reallocate the amount of the excess, provided that the receiving crop IAM does not exceed the effective CAB. Form CCC-507A, Agreement for Reallocation of Farm Irrigated Acreage Maximum, must be signed by both the operator and owners of the farm before the reallocation can be completed. The deadline for filing form CCC-507A is the same as for form CCC-477, Intention to Participate in the 1994 Price Support and Production Adjustment Programs. The reallocation is final for the year and becomes the following year crop IAM. (d) Appeals of IAM's. The IAM for a farm may be appealed in accordance with Sec. 1413.6 when it is first established for the farm, if the farm had an irrigated farm program payment yield for a crop established for 1990. The farm IAM established for 1994 and later years cannot be increased by appeal, except to correct errors in calculation or transferring data. The crop IAM established for 1994 and later years, which includes the allocation of farm IAM, can be appealed if the CCC-507A was not properly executed. (e) Effects of terminating CRP contracts. When a CRP contract for a farm expires or is otherwise terminated, the original IAM shall be restored by multiplying the difference between the original IAM and effective IAM by the result of dividing the total cropland that is being released from CRP by the total cropland that was originally in CRP. Sec. 1413.19 Submitting production evidence. (a)(1) Producers shall submit reports of production evidence in accordance with this paragraph for crops of wheat, feed grains, upland cotton, and rice enrolled in a production adjustment program. Production evidence for program crops may be accepted by county committees at any time throughout the crop year. Producer certification shall not be accepted as proof of production. (2) Certification of such production evidence shall be on form ASCS-658, Record of Production and Yield, for feed grains, rice, soybeans, and wheat. Production evidence for upland cotton shall be certified on either form ASCS-658-1, Certification of Deliveries to Handlers, or Form ASCS-503, Identification of Cotton Production, at the option of the county Committee. Producers who have an interest in program crops on more than one farm shall submit production evidence for all farms. (3) County committees shall determine whether the production evidence submitted includes production from any other acreage for each year the evidence has been provided by the producer for the crop. (4) Producers may have actual crop yields calculated for program crops and soybeans by paying a service fee of $15 for each crop on a farm and for each crop of the same commodity which is the subject of a different cropping practice. (b)(1) When production has been disposed of through commercial channels, the county committee may require the operator or other producers to furnish documentary evidence in order to verify the information provided on the report. Acceptable evidence may include such items as the original or a copy of: (i) Commercial receipts, (ii) Gin records, (iii) CCC loan documents, (iv) Farm-stored loan documents, if the quantity of the grain has been determined by measurement, (v) Evidence from harvested or appraised acreage, approved for FCIC or multiple-peril crop insurance loss adjustment settlement, (vi) Settlement sheets, (vii) Warehouse ledger sheets, (viii) Elevator receipts or load summaries, supported by other evidence showing disposition, such as sales documents. (2) Such production evidence must show: (i) Producer's name, (ii) Commodity, (iii) Buyer's or storer's name, and (iv) The date of the transaction. (3) Production evidence shall be reviewed by the county committee for moisture content and applicable dockage, according to part 1421 of this title. (c)(1) Farm-stored production shall be measured at the expense of the producer. Scale tickets or weight slips may be accepted for farm- stored production evidence instead of the measured quantity, if such scale tickets or weight slips show: (i) The farm number, (ii) The commodity being stored, (iii) The date the commodity was weighed, and (iv) The signature or initials of the weigh person, and company name, if available. (2) The county committee shall determine that measurements indicating the weighed quantity of the commodity in the bin is reasonable compared to the measured quantity of such commodity. (d) Subject to the county committee's approval, a producer may certify that a quantity of a commodity was used as seed for personal use if such certification includes: (1) The production amount used for the commodity, (2) The seeding rate for the commodity, and (3) The number of acres that were planted using such commodity. (e) Producers may request to have a crop appraised for production evidence purposes. Such appraisals shall be performed in accordance to 7 CFR Sec. 401.8. The county committee has the option of: (1) Accepting such appraisal's production estimates; or (2) Reducing the appraised yield to reflect yields based on 3 similar farms and recording such appraised yield as an assigned yield, and notifying the producer of the reduction of the yield and the producer's right to appeal such yield. (f)(1) Production that a producer intends to commingle with other production must be supported by acceptable production evidence, which shall be provided by the producer by: (i) Having such production evidence measured, (ii) Having the current year's production appraised, and (iii) Establishing each producer's shares. (2) The county committee may also verify the evidence submitted by the producer with the warehouse, gin, or other entity which received production. If the evidence is not furnished or the information provided on the report cannot be verified, the county committee has the option to: (i) Disapprove the report of production; or (ii) Require additional evidence to be provided. (g) If production evidence is found to be unacceptable, false, or incorrect, the county committee shall make all determinations, including determinations as to whether the producer acted in good faith or took an action defeating the purpose of the program, as specified in accordance with part 791 of this title. If the county committee determines the producer did not act in good faith or took action defeating the purpose of the program, the actual yield shall be considered zero. If the county committee determines the producer acted in good faith, a yield shall be assigned for the crop year based on yields established for 3 similar farms in the county. Sec. 1413.20 Reducing yields. (a) For the purpose of determining the amount of any deficiency payment as provided in Sec. 1413.104 or the amount of any disaster payment as provided in Secs. 1413.122 and 1413.123, the farm program payment yield for a crop for a farm shall be temporarily reduced for a farm for the applicable crop year when the county committee determines that the producer planted or maintained the acreage of the crop in an unworkmanlike manner such that, under normal conditions, it would not produce a yield comparable to the established yield for the crop for the farm. (b) The following farming practices will not be considered as unworkmanlike unless the county committee determines that the actions are not an acceptable management practice for the crop and area: (1) Continuous cropping when the yield for the crop was established based on the crop normally being planted on summer-fallow acreage on the farm; (2) Cultural practices normal to the area or introduced by Extension Service or Soil Conservation Service (SCS) to improve conservation; (3) Double cropping 2 crops that are normally double cropped in the area; (4) Changes in irrigation practices, except for rice; (5) Minimum till and no till practices according to practices customary for the area; and (6) Introduction of new farm equipment into the area that was manufactured or built by an entity that normally builds farm equipment. (c) The county ASC committee shall: (1) Review the newly determined yield; (2) Adjust the established yield, if the new yield is less than 90 percent of the current established yield for the crop; and (3) Consider adjusting the current established yield for the crop if both of the following apply: (i) The new determined yield is 90 percent or more of the current established yield for the crop; and (ii) The conditions initiating the reduced yield justify such adjustment. (d) Producers on a farm who have the yield for a crop temporarily reduced may file a request for reconsideration of such reduced yield. Production evidence that indicates that the actual yield exceeds the temporarily reduced yield must be provided by the producer. (e) If such production evidence indicates that the actual yield justifies an increase in the temporarily reduced yield, such increased yield may not exceed the program payment yield established for the crop for a farm before the temporary reduction, irrespective of such actual yield. (f) If a temporary yield is increased, such increase must be approved by a representative of the State committee. (g) With respect to farms with repeat cropping, the total plantings of the crop shall be considered as the crop acreage. Temporary yield reductions may be made by the county committee with respect to the acreage of the second planting if the yield originally established for the farm was based on a history of a single planting. (h) If a producer plants either corn or grain sorghum on the permitted acreage of either corn or grain sorghum, respectively, and the county committee determines that the crop planted was cared for in an unworkmanlike manner, and the other crop was earning payments; (1) A percentage of the reduced production of the crop cared for in an unworkmanlike manner shall be determined, and the yield for the crop earning deficiency payments shall be reduced by the determined percentage. (2) The producer may submit to the county committee actual production evidence for approval to increase such that was reduced yield for the crop. Subpart E--Crop Acreage Bases Sec. 1413.24 Crop acreage bases. (a) A CAB shall be established for a farm for each year for barley, corn, grain sorghum, oats, rice, upland cotton, ELS cotton, and wheat. With respect to the 1994 and 1995 crops of corn and grain sorghum, the permitted acreages of corn and grain sorghum for a farm shall be combined. Separate corn and grain sorghum crop acreage bases shall be calculated for the purpose of making deficiency payments in accordance with Sec. 1413.104, and for planted and considered planted credit, in accordance with Sec. 1413.11. Producers may plant any combination of corn and grain sorghum on the total of the combined permitted acreages for such crops. (b) Except as provided in paragraphs (d) and (e) of this section, the CAB for each program crop of wheat, barley, corn, grain sorghum, and oats, for the 1991 and subsequent crop years shall be the number of acres that is equal to the average of the acreage planted and considered planted to the program crop for harvest on the farm in each of the 5 crop years preceding the crop year. (c) For upland cotton and rice, except as provided in paragraphs (d) and (e) of this section, the CAB shall be equal to the average of the acreages planted and considered planted to such crop for harvest on the farm in each of the 3 crop years preceding such crop year. (d) If the county committee determines that a crop is grown on a farm in a clearly established crop-rotation pattern for 2 or more years, the acreage base established for such crop will be determined by using the average of the planted and considered planted acreages for the 3 immediately preceding crop years in the rotation cycle that corresponds to the current year. (e) The sum of the CAB's for a farm for a crop year shall not exceed the cropland for the farm, except to the extent that such excess is due to an established practice of doublecropping on the farm, according to paragraph (f) of this section. (f) Acreages on a farm shall be considered to be double cropped if in the same crop year on the same acreage any of the following apply: (1) Two different crops are harvested, or if not harvested, received failed or prevented planted acreage credit; (2) The first crop was approved as prevented planted or failed acres and the second crop is not considered ghost acres, in accordance with Sec. 1413.121; or (3) Two different crops are planted such that: (i) Small grains must reach the hard dough stage on or before the final disposition date in accordance with part 718 of this title; and (ii) Other crops must reach maturity. (g) The planting flexibility provisions in Sec. 1413.43 allow nonprogram crops to be planted instead of program crops. Therefore, producers who have a history of double cropping program crops may plant nonprogram crop acreage as a double crop without losing double cropping history. (h)(1) Nonprogram crop acreage following program crop acreage is eligible to receive double cropped planting credit if the farm has a history of a program crop following a program crop in 3 of the previous 5 years. Such acreage credited for double crop history purposes is limited to the smaller of the following: (i) Nonprogram crop acreage considered double cropped; or (ii) Nonprogram crop acreage credited to planted and considered planted as flexible acreage, approved nonprogram crop, or other nonprogram crop. (2) Program crop acreage, regardless of whether such acreage is the first or second crop planted, shall be credited as a program crop for planted and considered planted purposes, according to Sec. 1413.9. Sec. 1413.25 Participation in Conservation Reserve Program. (a) Whenever the owner or operator of a farm signs a contract to participate in the CRP in accordance with part 1410 of this title: (1) The total of the CAB's, acreage allotments, and marketing quotas established for the farm for the first crop year for which such contract is applicable shall be reduced in the same proportion as the ratio of the cropland taken out of production under the conservation reserve contract to the total cropland on the farm. If acreage bases, acreage allotments, and marketing quotas were established for more than one crop, the owner or operator shall determine which acreage bases, acreage allotments, or marketing quotas shall be reduced to achieve the total reduction required. (2) The CAB's established for the farm for each succeeding crop year for which the conservation reserve contract is in effect shall be: (i) Computed in accordance with Sec. 1413.24; and (ii) Reduced in accordance with part 1410 of this title. (3) The amount of the reduction made in accordance with paragraphs (a) (1) and (2) of this section shall be considered as planted to the applicable crop for the purpose of establishing future CAB's. (4) If there is an agreement in effect between CCC and the producers with respect to the annual program for one or more of the crops for which the acreage base is reduced in accordance with paragraph (a)(1) of this section, the operator and producers shall have the option of: (i) Complying with the agreement using the acreage base for the crop after such reduction is determined; or (ii) Canceling such agreement without liability. (b) After the end of the period of a conservation reserve contract, the CAB's for the next crop year shall be computed in accordance with Sec. 1413.24. Sec. 1413.26 Adjusting CAB's. (a)(1) A one-time forfeiture of all or a portion of a farm's CAB shall be allowed at the request of the owner and operator if the request for the permanent base reduction is filed not later than the end of the ARP signup period. (2) With respect to farms on which a base forfeiture is requested and approved, the planted and considered planted history for each of the previous years which were used to establish the CAB shall [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%3A94-27562. Public record. Not legal advice.