§8752 Base acres for peanuts for a farm

Summary

The Secretary must change a farm’s peanut base acres when certain things happen. Changes are required if a conservation reserve contract (CRP) on the farm ends or is ended, or if cropland is released from a CRP, including any that ended between October 1, 2007 and the law’s enactment date. Changes are also required if the producer has eligible pulse crop acres or eligible oilseed acres because the Secretary added more oilseeds. In the first crop year after a CRP ends or land is released, the farm owner must choose either direct and counter-cyclical payments for the added acres or a prorated CRP payment, but not both. If the total of peanut base acres plus other counted acres is bigger than the farm’s actual cropland, the Secretary must cut peanut base acres or base acres for other supported crops so the total does not exceed actual cropland. Counted acres include other base acres, land in CRP or the Wetlands Reserve, other federal conservation program acres kept out of production, and eligible pulse or oilseed acres. The owner can pick which base acres to reduce. There is an exception for double cropping. Owners can permanently drop peanut base acres at any time. The Secretary must cut base acres when land is subdivided and developed for nonfarming use, unless the land stays in farming or will likely return to farming, and must report yearly to Congress about these actions. Farms with 10 or fewer total base acres cannot get direct, counter-cyclical, or ACRE payments, except for socially disadvantaged or limited-resource farmers; the 10-acre rule did not apply in the 2008 crop year. Key terms (one line each): conservation reserve contract — a CRP agreement to retire cropland; Wetlands Reserve Program — a program to restore or protect wetlands; covered commodities — other supported crops; eligible pulse or oilseed acreage — acres that meet the rules for those crop types.