§7234 Repayment of Loans

Summary

Producers may pay back marketing assistance loans for wheat, corn, grain sorghum, barley, oats, and oilseeds at the lower of two amounts: the loan rate for the crop plus interest, or a lower rate the Secretary sets to reduce loan forfeitures, avoid big government stockpiles and storage costs, and let U.S. crops be sold freely and competitively at home and abroad. For upland cotton and rice, repayment is the lower of the loan rate plus interest or the world market price adjusted to U.S. quality and location. Extra long staple cotton must be repaid at the loan rate plus interest. The Secretary must make rules that explain how to calculate and announce the adjusted world market prices. For upland cotton, through July 31, 2003, the adjusted world price is further changed if it is below 115 percent of the upland cotton loan rate and if the weekly average price for the cheapest U.S. growth (Middling 13/32‑inch, CIF Northern Europe) is higher than the average of the five lowest‑priced growths for that market. Any extra change can use U.S. export share, current export sales and shipments, and other relevant data, but cannot be larger than the difference between that cheapest U.S. weekly average and the Northern Europe average.