§7216 Violations of Contract

Summary

If an owner or producer who is bound by a contract breaks a contract rule listed in section 7211(a), the Secretary must cancel that person’s contract for every farm they have an interest in. When the contract is canceled, they lose the right to any future contract payments and must repay all contract payments they got during the time of the violation, with interest set by the Secretary. If the Secretary thinks the violation does not require canceling the contract, the Secretary can instead make the person repay part of the payments with interest or reduce future payments by an amount that matches the seriousness of the violation. If the contract land was foreclosed and the Secretary decides forgiving repayment is fair, the person may not have to repay. If the person later resumes control or operation of the land, the old contract duties apply again. The Secretary’s decision is an adverse decision and can be reviewed through administrative appeal.