페이지 이미지
PDF
ePub

grades, and qualities of the commodity, and such other factors as he deems appropriate. (7 U. S. C. 1822.)

COMPENSATION OF PRODUCERS

SEC. 105. (a) Producers shall be compensated for participating in the acreage reserve program through the issuance of negotiable certificates which the Commodity Credit Corporation shall redeem in accordance with regulations prescribed by the Secretary (1) in cash upon presentation by the producer or by any holder in due course or (2) at the option of the producer in the case of certificates issued with respect to grains and upon presentation by him, in grains (such grains to be valued by the Secretary at such levels as he determines will not materially impair the market price for such grain yet will, to the maximum extent practicable encourage acceptance of payment in grains in lieu of cash): Provided, That disposition of quantities of stocks hereunder in any one year shall be limited to not more than two-thirds of such quantities of such commodities as the Secretary determines would be a reasonable estimate of what would have been produced for marketing during such marketing year on the acreage withheld from production under the provisions of this title: And provided further, That such stocks shall not be released prior to the end of the normal harvesting season for the particular commodity being released. Compensation under this section shall be at such rate or rates as the Secretary determines will provide producers with a fair and reasonable return for reducing their acreage of the commodity, taking into consideration the loss of production of the commodity on the reserve acreage, any savings in cost which result from not planting the commodity on the reserve acreage, and the incentive necessary to achieve the reserve acreage goal. The Secretary shall make an adjustment in yields for drought, flood, or other abnormal conditions in estimating the loss of production for purposes of establishing rates of compensation. The rates of payment offered under this section shall be such as to encourage producers to underplant their allotments more than one year. Commodities delivered to producers in redemption of such certificates shall not be eligible for tender to Commodity Credit Corporation under the price support program. (7 U. S. C. 1823 (a).)

(b) Compensation shall be paid to any producer for participating in the acreage reserve program for any year including 1956 when the Secretary has ascertained that such producer has complied with the acreage reduction requirements of such program for such year. (7 U. S. C. 1823 (b).)

(c) The total compensation paid producers for participating in the acreage reserve program with respect to any year's crops shall not exceed $750,000,000, and with respect to any commodity for any year shall not exceed the amount shown below: Wheat, $375,000,000; cotton, $300,000,000; corn in the commercial corn-producing area, $300,000,000; peanuts, $7,000,000: rice, $23,000,000; and tobacco, $45,000,000. The total amount available for the acreage reserve program for any year's crops shall be apportioned among the various commodities on the basis of the amounts required to achieve the reserve acreage goal for each commodity established under section 104. (7 U. S. C. 1823 (c).)

EFFECT ON ACREAGE ALLOTMENTS AND QUOTAS

SEC. 106. (a) In the future establishment of State, county, and farm acreage allotments under the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938, as amended, or base acreages under this title, reserve acreages applicable to any commodity shall be credited to the State, county, and farm as though such acreage had actually been devoted to the production of the commodity. (7 U. S. C. 1824 (a).)

(b) In applying the provisions of paragraph (6) of Public Law 74, Seventy-seventh Congress (7 U. S. C. 1340 (6)), and sections 326 (b) and 356 (g) of the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938, as amended (7 U. S. C. 1326 (b), 1356 (g)), relating to reduction of the storage amounts of wheat and rice, the reserve acreage of the commodity on any farm shall be regarded as wheat acreage or rice acreage, as the case may be, on the farm. (7 U. S. C. 1824 (b).)

SUBTITLE B-CONSERVATION RESERVE PROGRAM

TERMS AND CONDITIONS

SEC. 107. (a) To effectuate the purposes of this title the Secretary is hereby authorized to enter into contracts for periods of not less than three years with producers determined by him to have control for the contract period of the farms covered by the contract wherein the producer shall agree:

(1) To establish and maintain for the contract period protective vegetative cover (including but not limited to grass and trees), water storage facilities, or other soil-, water-, wildlife-, or forest-conserving uses on a specifically designated acreage of land on the farm regularly used in the production of crops (including crops, such as tame hay, alfalfa, and clovers, which do not require annual tillage).

(2) To devote to conserving crops or uses, or allow to remain idle, throughout the contract period an acreage of the remaining land on the farm which is not less than the acreage normally devoted only to conserving crops or uses or normally allowed to remain idle on such remaining acreage.

(3) Not to harvest any crop from the acreage established in protective vegetative cover, excepting timber (in accordance with sound forestry management) and wildlife or other natural products of such acreage which do not increase supplies of feed for domestic animals.

(4) Not to graze any acreage established in protective vegetative cover prior to January 1, 1959, or such later date as may be provided in the contract, except pursuant to the provisions of section 103 (a) (3) hereof; and if such acreage is grazed at the end of such period, to graze such acreage during the remainder of the period covered by the contract in accordance with sound pasture management.

(5) Not to adopt any practice, or divert lands on the farm from conservation, woods, grazing, or other use, to any use specified by the Secretary in the contract as a practice or use which would tend to defeat the purposes of the contract.

(6) (A) In the event that the Secretary determines that there has been a violation of the contract (including the prohibition of grazing

492443-59-8

on conservation acreages) at any stage during the time such producer has control of the farm and that such violation is of such a substantial nature as to warrant termination of the contract, to forfeit all rights to payments or grants under the contract, and to refund to the United States all payments and grants received by him thereunder.

(B) In the event that the Secretary determines that there has been a violation of the contract but that such violation is of such a nature as not to warrant termination of the contract, to accept such payment adjustments, forfeit such benefits, and make such refunds to the United States of payments and benefits received by him, under the contract, as the Secretary may determine to be appropriate.

(7) To such additional provisions as the Secretary determines are desirable and includes in the contract to effectuate the purposes of this title and to facilitate the practical administration of the conservation reserve program, including provisions relating to control of noxious weeds. (7 U.S. C. 1831 (a).)

(b) In return for such agreement by the producer the Secretary shall agree:

(1) To bear such part of the cost (including labor) of establishing and maintaining vegetative cover or water storage facilities, or other soil-, water-, wildlife-, or forest-conserving uses, on the designated acreage as the Secretary determines to be necessary to effectuate the purposes of this title, but not to exceed a maximum amount per acre or facility prescribed by the Secretary for the county or area in which the farm is situated; 5 and

(2) To make an annual payment to the producer for the term of the contract upon determination that he has fulfilled the provisions of the contract entitling him to such payment. The rate or rates of the annual payment to be provided for in the contracts shall be established on such basis as the Secretary determines will provide producers with a fair and reasonable annual return on the land established in protective vegetative cover or water storage facilities, or other soil-, water-, wildlife-, or forest-conserving uses, taking into consideration the value of the land for the production of commodities customarily grown on such kind of land in the county or area, the prevailing rates for cash rentals for similar land in the county or area, the incentive necessary to obtain contracts covering sufficient acreage for the substantial accomplishment of the purposes of the conservation reserve program, and such other factors as he deems appropriate. Such rate or rates may be determined on an individual farm basis, a county or area basis, or such other basis as the Secretary determines will facilitate the practical administration of the program. (7 U. S. C. 1831 (b).)

5

(c) In determining the lands in any area to be covered by contracts entered into under this section, the Secretary may use advertising and bid procedure if he determines that such action will contribute to the effective and equitable administration of the conservation reserve program. (7 U. S. C. 1831 (c).)

(d) A contract shall not be terminated under paragraph (6) of subsection (a) unless the nature of the violation is such as to defeat or substantially impair the purposes of the contract. Whenever the

See the 1959 agriculture appropriation act which contains limitations on payments to producers under the conservation reserve program (p. 252).

State committee believes that there has been a violation which would warrant termination of a contract, the producer shall be given written notice thereof by registered mail or personal service, and the producer shall, if he requests such an opportunity within thirty days after the delivery or service of such notice, be given an opportunity to show cause, in an informal proceeding before the county committee under regulations promulgated by the Secretary, why the contract should not be terminated. If the producer does not request an opportunity to show cause why the contract should not be terminated within such thirty-day period, the determination of the State committee made in accordance with regulations of the Secretary shall be final and conclusive. If the producer within such thirty-day period requests an opportunity to show cause why the contract should not be terminated, the county committee, at the conclusion of the proceeding, shall submit a report, including its recommendations, to the State committee for a determination, on the basis of such report and such other information as is available to the State committee, as to whether there has been a violation which would warrant termination of the contract. The producer shall be accorded the right, in accordance with regulations promulgated by the Secretary, to appear before the State committee in connection with the State committee's determination of the issue. The producer shall be given written notice by registered mail or personal service of the State committee's determination. If the producer feels aggrieved by such determination, he may obtain judicial review of such determination by filing a complaint with the United States district court for the district in which the land covered by the contract is located, within ninety days after the delivery or service of notice of such determination, requesting the court to set aside such determination. Service of process in such action shall be made in accordance with the rule for service of process upon the United States prescribed by the Rules of Civil Procedure for the United States District Courts. The copy of the summons and complaint required to be delivered to the officer or agency whose order is being attacked shall be sent to the chairman of the State committee. The action in the United States district court shall be a trial de novo to determine whether there has been a violation which would warrant termination of the contract. If the producer does not seek judicial review of the State committee's determination within the ninety-day period allowed therefor, the State committee's determination shall be final and conclusive. The terms "county committee" and "State committee" as used herein refer to the county and State committees established under section 8 of the Soil Conservation and Domestic Allotment Act, as amended. U. S. C. 1831 (d).)

CONSERVATION RESERVE GOAL

(7

SEC. 108. (a) The Secretary shall not later than February 1 of each year determine and announce the national conservation reserve goal for such year. Such goal shall be that percentage which the Secretary determines it is practicable to cover by contracts during such year of the number of acres, if any, by which (1) the acreage used for the production of agricultural commodities during the year preceding the

year for which such determination is made, plus any acreage then in the acreage or conservation reserve program or retired from production as a result of acreage allotments or marketing quotas, exceeds (2) the acreage needed during the year for which such determination is made for the production of agricultural commodities for domestic consumption and export and an adequate allowance for carryover. As soon as practicable after the enactment of this title the Secretary shall determine the national conservation acreage goal for 1956. (7 U. S. C. 1832 (a).)

(b) In distributing the national acreage goal among the various States and major crop production regions, the Secretary shall give due regard to the respective needs of the various States and regions for flood control, drought control, and other conservation benefits; the desires of producers in particular States or regions to participate in the conservation program; the diversion of acreage from crops under acreage allotments or marketing quotas; and the need to assure adequate production of agricultural commodities and products not in surplus and to discourage the production of agricultural commodities and products in surplus. (7 U. S. C. 1832 (b).)

(c) The Secretary shall transmit to the Congress on or before March 15 of each year a report of the scope of the conservation reserve program for the preceding year and the basis for participation in such program in the various States and major crop production regions of the country. (7 U. S. C. 1832 (c).)

AUTHORIZED PERIOD OF CONTRACTS AND EXPENDITURES

SEC. 109. (a) The Secretary is authorized to formulate and announce programs under this subtitle B and to enter into contracts thereunder with producers during the five-year period 1956-1960 to be carried out during the period ending not later than December 31, 1969, except that contracts for the establishment of tree cover may continue until December 31, 1974. (7 U. S. C. 1833 (a).)

(b) The period covered by any contract shall not exceed ten years, except that contracts for the establishment of tree cover may extend for 15 years. (7 U. S. C. 1833 (b).)

(c) In carrying out the conservation reserve program, the Secretary shall not enter into contracts with producers which would require payments to producers, including the cost of materials and services, in excess of $450,000,000 in any calendar year. (7 U. S. C. 1833 (c).)

TERMINATION AND MODIFICATION OF CONTRACTS

SEC. 110. (a) The Secretary may terminate any contract with a producer by mutual agreement with the producer if the Secretary determines that such termination would be in the public interest. (7 U. S. C. 1834 (a).)

(b) The Secretary may agree to such modification of contracts previously entered into as he may determine to be desirable to carry out the purposes of this title and to facilitate the practical administration of the conservation reserve program. (7 U. S. C. 1834 (b).)

CONSERVATION MATERIALS AND SERVICES

SEC. 111. (a) The Secretary may purchase or produce conservation materials and services and make such materials and services available

« 이전계속 »