§8752 — Title 7 Agriculture | U.S. Code

Summary

The Secretary must change a farm’s peanut base acres when certain things happen. Those things are: a conservation reserve (CRP) contract on the farm ends or is ended (including contracts that ended between October 1, 2007 and the law’s enactment date); cropland is taken out of CRP (including releases in that same period); the farm gets eligible pulse crop acreage; or the Secretary adds eligible oilseed acreage. In the first crop year an adjustment is made because a CRP contract ended or land was released, the farm owner must choose either direct and counter‑cyclical payments for the added acreage or a prorated CRP payment, but not both. If the total of peanut base acres plus certain other acreage is bigger than the farm’s actual cropland, the Secretary must cut back base acres so the total does not exceed the cropland. The other acreage counted includes other covered commodity base acres, land in CRP or wetlands reserve, land in other federal conservation programs where payments are made to not farm, and eligible pulse or oilseed acreage. The farm owner can pick which base acres to reduce. There is an exception for legitimate double cropping. Owners may permanently reduce peanut base acres at any time. The Secretary will cut base acres when land is subdivided or developed for nonfarming uses unless the producers show it is still farmed or will be farmed again, and will create procedures and report yearly to Congress about these actions. A producer on a farm with 10 or fewer total base acres cannot get direct, counter‑cyclical, or average crop revenue election payments unless the farm is owned by a socially disadvantaged or a limited resource farmer; that 10‑acre rule did not apply during the 2008 crop year.

Title 7, §8752

Agriculture — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)(1)The Secretary shall provide for an adjustment, as appropriate, in the base acres for peanuts for a farm whenever any of the following circumstances occur:

(A)A conservation reserve contract entered into under section 1231 of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3831) with respect to the farm expires or is voluntarily terminated, or was terminated or expired during the period beginning on October 1, 2007, and ending on the date of enactment of this Act.

(B)Cropland is released from coverage under a conservation reserve contract by the Secretary, or was released during the period beginning on October 1, 2007, and ending on the date of enactment of this Act.

(C)The producer has eligible pulse crop acreage, which shall be determined in the same manner as eligible oilseed acreage under section 7911(a)(2) of this title.

(D)The producer has eligible oilseed acreage as the result of the Secretary designating additional oilseeds, which shall be determined in the same manner as eligible oilseed acreage under section 7911(a)(2) of this title.

(2)For the crop year in which a base acres for peanuts adjustment under subparagraph (A) or (B) of paragraph (1) is first made, the owner of the farm shall elect to receive either direct payments and counter-cyclical payments with respect to the acreage added to the farm under this subsection or a prorated payment under the conservation reserve contract, but not both.

(b)(1)If the sum of the base acres for peanuts for a farm, together with the acreage described in paragraph (2), exceeds the actual cropland acreage of the farm, the Secretary shall reduce the base acres for peanuts for the farm or the base acres for 1 or more covered commodities for the farm so that the sum of the base acres for peanuts and acreage described in paragraph (2) does not exceed the actual cropland acreage of the farm.

(2)For purposes of paragraph (1), the Secretary shall include the following:

(A)Any base acres for the farm for a covered commodity.

(B)Any acreage on the farm enrolled in the conservation reserve program or wetlands reserve program under chapter 1 of subtitle D of title XII of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3830 et seq.).

(C)Any other acreage on the farm enrolled in a Federal conservation program for which payments are made in exchange for not producing an agricultural commodity on the acreage.

(D)Any eligible pulse crop acreage, which shall be determined in the same manner as eligible oilseed acreage under section 7911(a)(2) of this title.

(E)If the Secretary designates additional oilseeds, any eligible oilseed acreage, which shall be determined in the same manner as eligible oilseed acreage under section 7911(a)(2) of this title.

(3)The Secretary shall give the owner of the farm the opportunity to select the base acres for peanuts or the base acres for covered commodities against which the reduction required by paragraph (1) will be made.

(4)In applying paragraph (1), the Secretary shall make an exception in the case of double cropping, as determined by the Secretary.

(5)The Secretary shall take into account section 8711(b) of this title when applying the requirements of this subsection.

(c)(1)(A)The owner of a farm may reduce, at any time, the base acres for peanuts for the farm.

(B)A reduction under subparagraph (A) shall be permanent and made in a manner prescribed by the Secretary.

(2)(A)The Secretary shall proportionately reduce base acres on a farm for peanuts for land that has been subdivided and developed for multiple residential units or other nonfarming uses if the size of the tracts and the density of the subdivision is such that the land is unlikely to return to the previous agricultural use, unless the producers on the farm demonstrate that the land—

(i)remains devoted to commercial agricultural production; or

(ii)is likely to be returned to the previous agricultural use.

(B)The Secretary shall establish procedures to identify land described in subparagraph (A).

(3)Each year, to ensure, to the maximum extent practicable, that payments are received only by producers, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a report that describes the results of the actions taken under paragraph (2).

(d)(1)Except as provided in paragraph (2) and notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, a producer on a farm may not receive direct payments, counter-cyclical payments, or average crop revenue election payments if the sum of the base acres of the farm is 10 acres or less, as determined by the Secretary.

(2)Paragraph (1) shall not apply to a farm owned by—

(A)a socially disadvantaged farmer or rancher (as defined in section 2003(e) of this title; 11 So in original. There probably should be a closing parenthesis after “title”. or

(B)a limited resource farmer or rancher, as defined by the Secretary.

(3)Paragraphs (1) and (2) shall not apply during the 2008 crop year.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

The date of enactment of this Act, referred to in subsec. (a)(1)(A), (B), is the date of enactment of Pub. L. 110–246, which was approved June 18, 2008. The Food Security Act of 1985, referred to in subsec. (b)(2)(B), is Pub. L. 99–198, Dec. 23, 1985, 99 Stat. 1354. Chapter 1 of subtitle D of title XII of the Act is classified generally to part I (§ 3830 et seq.) of subchapter IV of chapter 58 of Title 16, Conservation. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see

Short Title

of 1985 Amendment note set out under section 1281 of this title and Tables. This chapter, referred to in subsec. (d)(1), was in the original “this title”, meaning title I of Pub. L. 110–246, June 18, 2008, 122 Stat. 1664, which is classified principally to this chapter. For complete classification of title I to the Code, see Tables. Codification Pub. L. 110–234 and Pub. L. 110–246 enacted identical sections. Pub. L. 110–234 was repealed by section 4(a) of Pub. L. 110–246.

Amendments

2014—Subsec. (d)(3). Pub. L. 113–188, § 101(a)(1), (3), redesignated par. (4) as (3) and struck out former par. (3) which related to required data collection and publication. Subsec. (d)(4). Pub. L. 113–188, § 101(a)(2), (3), substituted “Paragraphs (1) and (2)” for “Paragraphs (1) through (3)” and redesignated par. (4) as (3). 2008—Subsec. (d)(4). Pub. L. 110–398 added par. (4).

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

Enactment of this section and repeal of Pub. L. 110–234 by Pub. L. 110–246 effective May 22, 2008, the date of enactment of Pub. L. 110–234, see section 4 of Pub. L. 110–246, set out as a note under section 8701 of this title.

§8752 Base Acres for Peanuts for a Farm