§7952 Establishment of payment yield and base acres for peanuts for a farm

Summary

The Secretary must work out two 4‑year averages for each historic peanut producer for each farm. One average is the peanut yield for the years 1998 through 2001, leaving out any year the producer did not plant or was prevented from planting. A producer may, for up to 3 of those years, swap in the county average yield from 1990 through 1997 instead. The other average is the acres planted (plus acres the producer was prevented from planting because of drought, flood, or other natural disaster or condition beyond the producer’s control) for 1998 through 2001. The Secretary cannot drop years when a producer did not plant for the acreage average. If more than one producer shared risk on a farm, each gets their share of the acres. These calculations must be done as soon as practicable after May 13, 2002. The Secretary must also handle changes in who owns or shares the farm (for example, when a producer dies or an entity dissolves) and set rules to assign averages in those cases. Each historic peanut producer may assign the averages for yield and acreage to cropland on that farm or to another farm in the same State or a contiguous State, with limits. Acreage cannot be assigned to a farm in a contiguous State unless the producer grew peanuts in that State in at least one of 1998–2001 or was a producer on a farm in that State as of March 31, 2003. The Secretary must give a one‑time notice about the chance to make assignments and explain the limit, how to assign, and the timing. Producers must file their assignment by March 31, 2003 (or follow other rules the Secretary sets if late). The average yields assigned become the farm’s payment yield, and the total acres assigned become the farm’s peanut base acres for making direct payments and counter‑cyclical payments. The Secretary will adjust base acres when CRP contracts end or cropland is released, and the farm owner may choose either the farm payments or a prorated CRP payment in the first year of such an adjustment. If base acres plus other enrolled acreage would exceed the farm’s actual cropland, the Secretary will reduce peanut base acres or other commodity base acres so totals do not exceed actual cropland, letting the owner pick which base acres to cut and allowing an exception for double cropping. The Secretary must follow section 7911(g) when applying these rules. A farm owner may permanently reduce peanut base acres at any time in the way the Secretary requires.