§8716 Producer Agreement Required as Condition of Provision of Payments

Summary

Producers must agree, in the same crop year they get direct payments, counter-cyclical payments, or average crop revenue election payments, to follow several rules. They must follow conservation and wetland protection rules, follow the planting flexibility rules, use the amount of land equal to the farm’s base acres (including peanut base acres) only for farming or conservation and not for commercial, industrial, or residential purposes, and keep any non-cultivated parts free of noxious weeds and kept in good farming condition. The Secretary can make rules to check compliance and can change these requirements if a new owner asks and the changes still meet the goals. If a producer transfers or changes their interest in base acres, payments stop for those acres unless the new owner agrees to take on the same obligations. If a producer dies or cannot receive payments, the Secretary will make the payment under rules the Secretary sets. Producers must also give yearly acreage reports for all cropland, and those getting certain payments must give yearly production reports for covered commodities and peanuts. No penalty will be charged for wrong reports unless the producers knowingly and willfully lied. The Secretary must protect tenants and sharecroppers and make sure payments are shared fairly. For 2008, the Secretary must extend the signup deadline for farms with 10 or fewer base acres until the later of November 14, 2008, or the end of the 45-day period beginning on October 13, 2008, and must not penalize those farms for delays caused by the extension.