Title 7, AgricultureRelease 119-110
§1350 National Base Acreage Allotment
Title 7 › CHAPTER 35 — AGRICULTURAL ADJUSTMENT ACT OF 1938 › SUBCHAPTER II — LOANS, PARITY PAYMENTS, CONSUMER SAFEGUARDS, MARKETING QUOTAS, AND MARKETING CERTIFICATES › Part B — Marketing Quotas › subpart iv — marketing quotas—cotton › § 1350
Summary
The Agriculture Secretary must set a national base acreage number for upland cotton for each crop year from 1971 through 1977. The Secretary must announce each year’s number by November 15 before that crop year. The number is the acres needed, at the expected national yield, to produce the estimated U.S. domestic use of cotton (standard bales of 480 pounds) and can include up to 25% more if needed to meet the national cotton production goal. The national base is fixed at 11,500,000 acres for the 1971 crop, must be whatever is needed to keep supplies adequate for 1972–1977, and cannot be less than 11,000,000 acres for 1974–1977. The Secretary divides the national total among States based on acreage planted in the five calendar years before the year the national production goal is set, with adjustments for bad weather or disasters. States divide their shares to counties the same way and may hold back up to 2% for county adjustments. Counties divide to farms using 1970 farm allotments for 1971 and the prior year’s farm base for 1972 and later, and may hold back up to 10% to help new or harmed farms. If a farm plants less than its base, its next base is cut by that percentage, up to 20%; planting at least 90% counts as 100%. Acres not planted because of drought, flood, or other disaster count as planted. Certain other crops (for example, soybeans, wheat, feed grains, guar, castor beans, triticale, oats, rye) may be treated as cotton acreage if allowed. A farm that plants no cotton for three straight years loses its base. Farms may voluntarily give up base acreage for 1971–1977 so counties or States can reassign it; released acreage counts as planted where it was released. Any farm getting base acreage by transfer, sale, or reapportionment must follow the set-aside rules in section 1444(e)(4). If a county cannot plant acreage because of disaster, the Secretary may let that acreage be used on nearby farms for that year, as long as the original producers share in the proceeds, and the acreage will still count as planted on the original farm and county for future allotments.
Full Legal Text
Title 7, §1350
Agriculture, Source: USLM XML via OLRC
(a)Establishment
The Secretary shall establish for each of the 1971 through 1977 crops of upland cotton a national base acreage allotment. Such national base acreage allotment shall be announced not later than November 15 of the calendar year preceding the year for which the national base acreage allotment is to be effective. The national base acreage allotment for any crop of cotton shall be the number of acres which the Secretary determines on the basis of the expected national yield will produce an amount of cotton equal to the estimated domestic consumption of cotton (standard bales of four hundred and eighty pounds net weight) for the marketing year beginning in the year in which the crop is to be produced, plus not to exceed 25 per centum thereof if the Secretary, taking into consideration other actions he may take under the Agricultural Act of 1970, determines that such additional amount is necessary to provide for a production which will equal the national cotton production goal, except that such national base acreage allotment shall be eleven million five hundred thousand acres for the 1971 crop and in the case of the 1972 through 1977 crops shall be in such amount as the Secretary determines necessary to maintain adequate supplies. The national base acreage allotment for the 1974 through 1977 crops shall not be less than eleven million acres.
(b)Apportionment to States
The national base acreage allotment for each crop of upland cotton shall be apportioned by the Secretary to the States on the basis of the acreage planted (including acreage regarded as having been planted) to upland cotton within the farm acreage allotment or the farm base acreage allotment, whichever is in effect, during the five calendar years immediately preceding the calendar year in which the national cotton production goal is proclaimed, with adjustments for abnormal weather conditions or other natural disaster during such period.
(c)Apportionment to counties
The State base acreage allotment for each crop of upland cotton shall be apportioned to counties on the same basis as to years and conditions as is applicable to the State under subsection (b): Provided, That the State committee may reserve not to exceed 2 per centum of its State acreage allotment which shall be used to make adjustments in county allotments for trends in acreage, for counties adversely affected by abnormal conditions affecting plantings, or for small or new farms, or to correct inequities in farm allotments and to prevent hardships.
(d)Adjustment of apportionment bases for counties
The Secretary shall adjust the apportionment base for each county as may be necessary because of transfers of allotments across county lines.
(e)Apportionment to farms
(1)The county base acreage allotment for the 1971 crop shall be apportioned to old cotton farms in the county on the basis of the domestic acreage allotment established for the farm for the 1970 crop. For the 1972 and each subsequent crop of upland cotton the county base acreage allotment shall be apportioned to old cotton farms in the county on the basis of the farm base acreage allotment established for such farm for the preceding year. The county committee may reserve not in excess of 10 per centum of the county allotment which, in addition to the acreage made available under the proviso in subsection (c), shall be used for (A) establishing allotments for farms on which cotton was not planted (or regarded as planted) during any of the three calendar years immediately preceding the year for which the allotment is made, on the basis of land, labor, and equipment available for the production of cotton, crop-rotation practices, and the soil and other physical facilities affecting the production of cotton; and (B) making adjustments of the farm allotments established under this paragraph so as to establish allotments which are fair and reasonable in relation to the factors set forth in this paragraph and abnormal conditions of production on such farms, or in making adjustments in farm allotments to correct inequities and to prevent hardships. No part of such reserve shall be apportioned to a farm to reflect new cropland brought into production after November 30, 1970.
(2)If for any crop the total acreage of cotton planted on a farm is less than the farm base acreage allotment, the farm base acreage allotment used as a base for the succeeding crop shall be reduced by the percentage by which such planted acreage was less than such farm base acreage allotment, but such reduction shall not exceed 20 per centum of the farm base acreage allotment for the preceding crop. If not less than 90 per centum of the base acreage allotment for the farm is planted to cotton, the farm shall be considered to have an acreage planted to cotton equal to 100 per centum of such allotment. For purposes of this paragraph, an acreage on the farm which the Secretary determines was not planted to cotton because of drought, flood, other natural disaster, or a condition beyond the control of the producer shall be considered to be an acreage planted to cotton. For the purpose of this paragraph, the Secretary shall, in the event producers of wheat or feed grains are permitted to do so, permit producers of cotton to have acreage devoted to soybeans, wheat, feed grains, guar, castor beans, triticale, oats, rye or such other crops as the Secretary may deem appropriate considered as devoted to the production of cotton to such extent and subject to such terms and conditions as the Secretary determines will not impair the effective operation of the cotton or soybean program.
(3)If no acreage is planted to cotton for any three consecutive crop years on any farm which had a farm base acreage allotment for such years, such farm shall lose its base acreage allotment.
(f)Surrender of farm base acreage allotments
Effective for the 1971 through 1977 crops, any part of any farm base acreage allotment on which upland cotton will not be planted and which is voluntarily surrendered to the county committee shall be deducted from the farm base acreage allotment for such farm and may be reapportioned by the county committee to other farms in the same county receiving farm base acreage allotments in amounts determined by the county committee to be fair and reasonable on the basis of past acreage of upland cotton, land, labor, equipment available for the production of upland cotton, crop rotation practices, and soil and other physical facilities affecting the production of upland cotton. If all of the acreage voluntarily surrendered is not needed in the county, the county committee may surrender the excess acreage to the State committee to be used to make adjustments in farm base acreage allotments for other farms in the State adversely affected by abnormal conditions affecting plantings or to correct inequities or to prevent hardship. Any farm base acreage allotment released under this provision shall be regarded for the purpose of establishing future farm base acreage allotments as having been planted on the farm and in the county where the release was made rather than on the farm and in the county to which the allotment was transferred: Provided, That, notwithstanding any other provision of law, any part of any farm base acreage allotment for any crop year may be permanently released in writing to the county committee by the owner and operator of the farm and reapportioned as provided herein. Acreage released under this subsection shall be credited to the State in determining future allotments.
(g)Compliance with set-aside requirements
Any farm receiving any base acreage allotment through release and reapportionment or sale, lease, or transfer shall, as a condition to the right to receive such allotment, comply with the set-aside requirements of section 1444(e)(4) of this title applicable to such acreage as determined by the Secretary.
(h)Transfer of farm base acreage allotments not planted because of natural disaster or conditions beyond control of producer
Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, if the Secretary determines for any year that because of drought, flood, other natural disaster, or a condition beyond the control of the producer a portion of the farm base acreage allotment in a county cannot be timely planted or replanted in such year, he may authorize for such year the transfer of all or a part of such cotton acreage for any farm in the county so affected to another farm in the county or in any other nearby county on which one or more of the producers on the farm from which the transfer is to be made will be engaged in the production of upland cotton and will share in the proceeds thereof, in accordance with such regulations as the Secretary may prescribe. Any farm base acreage allotment transferred under this subsection shall be regarded as planted to upland cotton on the farm and in the county and State from which transfer is made for purposes of establishing future farm, county and State allotments.
Legislative History
Notes & Related Subsidiaries
Editorial Notes
References in Text
The Agricultural Act of 1970, referred to in subsec. (a), is Pub. L. 91–524, Nov. 30, 1970, 84 Stat. 1358. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see
Short Title
of 1970 Amendment note set out under section 1281 of this title and Tables.
Prior Provisions
A prior section 1350, act Feb. 16, 1938, ch. 30, title III, § 350, 52 Stat. 60, was omitted by act Aug. 29, 1949, ch. 518, § 1, 63 Stat. 670, which amended sections 342 to 350 of act Feb. 16, 1938, ch. 30, title III, 52 Stat. 56 to 60 (sections 1342 to 1344, 1345 to 1347, and prior sections 1348 to 1350 of this title) to be sections 342 to 348 of act Feb. 16, 1938 (sections 1342 to 1344, 1345 to 1347, and a prior section 1348 of this title). See section 1347 of this title.
Amendments
1973—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 93–86, § 1(19)(A), (D), (E), substituted “1971 through 1977” for “1971, 1972, and 1973” and “1972 through 1977” for “1972 and 1973” and inserted requirement that the national base acreage allotment for the 1974 through 1977 crops shall not be less than eleven million acres. Subsec. (e)(2). Pub. L. 93–86, § 1(19)(F), substituted “soybeans, wheat, feed grains, guar, castor beans, triticale, oats, rye or such other crops as the Secretary may deem appropriate” for “soybeans, wheat or feed grains”. Subsec. (f). Pub. L. 93–86, § 1(19)(A), substituted “1971 through 1977” for “1971, 1972, and 1973”. Subsec. (h). Pub. L. 93–86, § 1(19)(G), substituted “to another farm in the county or in any other nearby county” for “to another farm in the county or in an adjoining county”. 1970—Pub. L. 91–524 designated existing provisions as subsec. (a), substituted provisions for the establishment of a national base acreage allotment covering each of the 1971, 1972, and 1973 crops of upland cotton for provisions authorizing the establishing of a national domestic allotment for the 1966 through 1970 crops of upland cotton, and added subsecs. (b) to (h). 1968—Pub. L. 90–559 provided for a one year extension, substituting “1966 through 1970” for “1966, 1967, 1968, and 1969”. 1965—Pub. L. 89–321 extended domestic acreage allotment program through the 1969 crop and otherwise amended section generally to authorize establishment of a national domestic allotment for each crop year equal to the estimated domestic consumption for the marketing year beginning in year in which crop is to be produced and to authorize determination of a farm domestic acreage allotment percentage for each year by dividing national domestic allotment by total for all States of product of State acreage allotment and the projected State yield.
Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries
Effective Date
of 1973 Amendment Pub. L. 93–86, § 1(19)(E)–(G), Aug. 10, 1973, 87 Stat. 233, provided that the
Amendments
made by section 1(19)(E)–(G) of Pub. L. 93–86 are effective beginning with the 1974 crop.
Effective Date
of 1970 Amendment Pub. L. 91–524, title VI, § 601, Nov. 30, 1970, 84 Stat. 1371, provided that the amendment made by section 601 of Pub. L. 91–524 is effective beginning with the 1971 crop of upland cotton.
Effective Date
of 1965 Amendment Pub. L. 89–321, title IV, § 401(3), Nov. 3, 1965, 79 Stat. 1193, provided that the amendment made by section 401(3) of Pub. L. 89–321 is effective with the 1966 crop. Inapplicability of Section Section inapplicable to 2014 through 2018 crops of covered commodities, cotton, and sugar and inapplicable to milk during period beginning Feb. 7, 2014, through Dec. 31, 2018, see section 9092(a)(1) of this title. Section inapplicable to 2008 through 2012 crops of covered commodities, peanuts, and sugar and inapplicable to milk during period beginning
June 18, 2008, through Dec. 31, 2012, see section 8782(a)(1) of this title. Section inapplicable to 2002 through 2007 crops of covered commodities, peanuts, and sugar and inapplicable to milk during period beginning
May 13, 2002, through Dec. 31, 2007, see section 7992(a)(1) of this title. Section inapplicable to 1996 through 2001 crops of loan commodities, peanuts, and sugar and inapplicable to milk during period beginning Apr. 4, 1996, and ending Dec. 31, 2002, see section 7301(a)(1)(A) of this title.
Reference
Citations & Metadata
Citation
7 U.S.C. § 1350
Title 7, Agriculture
Last Updated
Sep 22, 2026
Release point: 119-110