PART VI-MARKETING QUOTAS-PEANUTS

LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS

SEC. 357. The production, marketing, and processing of peanuts and peanut products employs a large number of persons and is of national interest. The movement of peanuts from producer to consumer is preponderantly in interstate and foreign commerce, and, owing to causes beyond their control, the farmers producing such commodity and the persons engaged in the marketing and processing thereof are unable to regulate effectively the orderly marketing of the commodity. As the quantity of peanuts marketed in the channels of interstate and foreign commerce increases above the quantity of peanuts needed for cleaning and shelling, the prices at which all peanuts are marketed are depressed to low levels. These low prices tend to cause the quantity of peanuts available for marketing in later years to be less than normal, which in turn tends to cause relatively high prices. This fluctuation of prices and marketings of peanuts creates an unstable and chaotic condition in the marketing of peanuts for cleaning and shelling and for crushing for oil in the channels of interstate and foreign commerce. Since these unstable and chaotic conditions have existed for a period of years and are likely, without proper regulation, to continue to exist, it is imperative that the marketing of peanuts for cleaning and shelling and for crushing for oil in interstate and foreign commerce be regulated in order to protect producers, handlers, processors, and consumers. (7 U.S.C. 1357.)

MARKETING QUOTAS

SEC. 358. (a) Between July 1 and December 1 of each calendar year the Secretary shall proclaim the amount of the national marketing quota for peanuts for the crop produced in the next succeeding calendar year in terms of the total quantity of peanuts which will make available for marketing a supply of peanuts from the crop with respect to which the quota is proclaimed equal to the average quantity of peanuts harvested for nuts during the five years immediately preceding the year in which such quota is proclaimed, adjusted for current trends and prospective demand conditions, and the quota so proclaimed shall be in effect with respect to such crop. The national marketing quota for peanuts for any year shall be converted to a national acreage allotment by dividing such quota by the normal yield per acre of peanuts for the United States determined by the Secretary on the basis of the average yield per acre of peanuts in the five years preceding the year in which the quota is proclaimed, with such adjustments as may be found necessary to correct for trends in yields and for abnormal conditions of production affecting yields in such five years. 101 Provided, That the national marketing quota established for the crop produced in the calendar year 1941 shall be a quantity of peanuts sufficient to provide a national acreage allotment of not less than one million six hun

101 National acreage allotment of 1,610,000 acres for 1941 proclaimed in 6 F.R. 1810, April 8, 1941, thereby established 1,610,000 acre minimum for 1942 and succeeding crops.

dred and ten thousand acres, and that the national marketing quota established for any subsequent year shall be quantity of peanuts sufficient to provide a national acreage allotment of not less than that established for the crop produced in the calendar year 1941. (7 U.S.C. 1358(a).)

(b) Not later than December 15 of each calendar year the Secretary shall conduct a referendum of farmers engaged in the production of peanuts in the calendar year in which the referendum is held to determine whether such farmers are in favor of or opposed to marketing quotas with respect to the crops of peanuts produced in the three calendar years immediately following the year in which the referendum is held, except that, if as many as two-thirds of the farmers voting in any referendum vote in favor of marketing quotas, no referendum shall be held with respect to quotas for the second and third years of the period. The Secretary shall proclaim the results of the referendum within thirty days after the date on which it is held, and, if more than one-third of the farmers voting in the referendum vote against marketing quotas, the Secretary also shall proclaim that marketing quotas will not be in effect with respect to the crop of peanuts produced in the calendar year immediately following the calendar year in which the referendum is held. (7 U.Š.C. 1358 (b).)

(c) (1) The national acreage allotment for 1951, less than acreage to be allotted to new farms under subsection (f) of this section, shall be apportioned among the States on the basis of the larger of the following for each State: (a) The acreage allotted to the State as its share of the 1950 national acreage allotment of two million one hundred thousand acres, or (b) the State's share of two million one hundred thousand acres apportioned to States on the basis of the average acreage harvested for nuts in each State in the five years 1945-49: Provided, That any allotment so determined for any State which is less than the 1951 State allotment announced by the Secretary prior to the enactment of this Act shall be increased to such announced allotment and the acreage required for such increases shall be in addition to the 1951 national acreage allotment and shall be considered in determining State acreage allotments in future years. For any year subsequent to 1951, the national acreage allotment for that year, shall be apportioned among the States on the basis of their share of the national acreage allotment for the most recent year in which such apportionment was made.102

(2) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, if the Secretary of Agriculture determines, on the basis of the average yield per acre of peanuts by types during the preceding five years, adjusted for trends in yields and abnormal conditions of production affecting yields in such five years, that the supply of any type or types of peanuts for any marketing year, beginning with the 1951-52 marketing year, will be insufficient to meet the estimated demand for cleaning and shelling purposes at prices at which the Commodity Credit Corporation may sell for such purposes pea

103 The words "less the acreage to be allotted to new farms under subsection (f) of this section" in the last sentence of subsection 358 (c) (1) were deleted by Pub. L. 92-62, 85 Stat. 163, approved August 3, 1971.

nuts owned or controlled by it, the State allotments for those States producing such type or types of peanuts shall be increased to the extent determined by the Secretary to be required to meet such demand but the allotment for any State may not be increased under this provision above the 1947 harvested acreage of peanuts for such State. The total increase so determined shall be apportioned among such States for distribution among farms producing peanuts of such type or types on the basis of the average acreage of peanuts of such type or types in the three years immediately preceding the year for which the allotments are being determined. The additional acreage so required shall be in addition to the national acreage allotment, the production from such acreage shall be in addition to the national marketing quota, and the increase in acreage allotted under this provision shall not be considered in establishing future State, county, or farm acreage allotments. (7 U.S.C. 1358 (c).)

(d) The Secretary shall provide for the apportionment of the State acreage allotment for any State, less the acreage to be allotted to new farms under subsection (f) of this section, through local committees among farms on which peanuts were grown in any of the three years immediately preceding the year for which such allotment is determined.103 The State acreage allotment for 1952 and any subsequent year shall be apportioned among farms on which peanuts were produced in any one of the 3 calendar years immediately preceding the year for which such apportionment is made, on the basis of the following: Past acreage of peanuts, taking into consideration the acreage allotments previously established for the farm; abnormal conditions affecting acreage; land, labor, and equipment available for the production of peanuts; crop-rotation practices; and soil and other physical factors affecting the production of peanuts. Any acreage of peanuts harvested in excess of the allotted acreage for any farm for any year shall not be considered in the establishment of the allotment for the farm in succeeding years. The amount of the marketing quota for each farm shall be the actual production of the farm-acreage allotment, and no peanuts shall be marketed under the quota for any farm other than peanuts actually produced on the farm. (7 U.S.C. 1358 (d).)

(e) Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this section, the Secretary may, if the State committee recommends such action and the Secretary determines that such action will facilitate the effective administration of the provisions of the Act, provide for the apportionment of the State acreage allotment for 1952 and any subsequent year among the counties in the State on the basis of the past acreage of peanuts harvested for nuts (excluding acreage in excess of farm allotments) in the county during the five years immediately preceding the year in which such apportionment is made, with such adjustments as are deemed necessary for abnormal conditions affecting acreage, for trends in acreage, and for additional allotments for types of peanuts in short supply under the provisions of subsection (c). The county acreage allotment shall be apportioned among farms on the basis of the factors set forth in subsection (d) of this section. (7 U.S.C. 1358 (e).)

103 The first sentence of subsection 358 (d) was amended by Pub. L. 92-62, 85 Stat. 164, approved August 3, 1971.

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(f) Not more than 1 per centum of the State acreage allotment shall be apportioned among farms in the State on which peanuts are to be produced during the calendar year for which the allotment is made but on which peanuts were not produced during any one of the past three years, on the basis of the following: Past peanut-producing experience by the producers; land, labor, and equipment available for the production of peanuts; crop-rotation practices; and soil and other physical factors affecting the production of peanuts.104

(g) Any part of the acreage allotted to individual farms under the provisions of this section on which peanuts will not be produced and which is voluntarily surrendered to the county committee shall be deducted from the allotments to such farms and may be reapportioned by the county committee to other farms in the same county receiving allotments, in amounts determined by the county committee to be fair and reasonable on the basis of land, labor, and equipment available for the production of peanuts, crop-rotation practices, and soil and other physical factors affecting the production of peanuts. Any transfer of allotments under this provision shall not operate to reduce the allotment for any subsequent year for the farm from which acreage is transferred, except as the farm becomes ineligible for an allotment by failure to produce peanuts during a three-year period, and any such transfer shall not operate to increase the allotment for any subsequent year for the farm to which the acreage is transferred: Provided, That, notwithstanding any other provisions of this Act, any part of any farm acreage allotment may be permanently released in writing to the county committee by the owner and operator of the farm, and reapportioned as provided herein. (7 U.S.C. 1358 (g).)

(h)

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(i) The production of peanuts on a farm in 1959 or any subsequent year for which no farm acreage allotment was established shall not make the farm eligible for an allotment as an old farm under subsection (d) of this section: Provided, however, That by reason of such production the farm need not be considered as ineligible for a new farm allotment under subsection (f) this section, but such production shall not be deemed past experience in the production of peanuts for any producer on the farm. (7 U.S.C. 1358 (i).)

SALE, LEASE, AND TRANSFER OF PEANUT ACREAGE ALLOTMENTS

SEC. 358a 106 (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law for the 1968 and succeeding 107 crop years, the Secretary, if he determines that it will not impair the effective operation of the peanut marketing quota or price-support program, (1) may permit the owner and operator of any farm for which a peanut acreage allotment is established under this Act to sell or lease all or any part or the right to all or any part of such allotment to any other owner or operator of a farm in the same county for transfer to such farm; and (2) may permit the owner

104 The present language of subsection 358 (f) was substituted for previous language by Pub. L. 92-62, 85 Stat. 164, approved August 3, 1971.

106 Repealed by Pub. L. 85-835, 72 Stat. 996, approved August 28, 1958.

108 Section 358a was added by Pub. L. 90-211. 81 Stat. 658, approved December 18, 1967. 107 Pub. L. 91-568. 84 Stat. 1499, approved December 22, 1970, extended the applicability of the "notwithstanding" clause to "succeeding" crop years.

of a farm to transfer all or any part of such allotment to any other farm owned or controlled by him. (7 U.S.C. 1358a (a).)

(b) Transfers under this section shall be subject to the following conditions: (1) no allotment shall be transferred to a farm in another county; (2) no transfer of an allotment from a farm subject to a mortgage or other lien shall be permitted unless the transfer is agreed to by the lienholders; (3) no sale of a farm allotment from a farm shall be permitted if any sale of allotment to the same farm has been made within the three immediately preceding crop years; (4) no transfer of allotment shall be effective until a record thereof is filed with the county committee of the county in which such transfer is made and such committee determines that the transfer complies with the provisions of this section; and (5) if the normal yield established by the county committee for the farm to which the allotment is transferred does not exceed the normal yield established by the county committee for the farm from which the allotment is transferred by more than 10 per centum, the lease or sale and transfer shall be approved acre for acre, but if the normal yield for the farm to which the allotment is transferred exceeds the normal yield for the farm from which the allotment is transferred by more than 10 per centum, the county committee shall make a downward adjustment in the amount of the acreage allotment transferred by multiplying the normal yield established for the farm from which the allotment is transferred by the acreage being transferred and dividing the result by the normal yield established for the farm to which the allotment is transferred: Provided, That in the event an allotment is transferred to a farm which at the time of such transfer is not irrigated, but within five years subsequent to such transfer is placed under irrigation, the Secretary shall also make an annual downward adjustment in the allotment so transferred by multiplying the normal yield established for the farm from which the allotment is transferred by the acreage being transferred and dividing the result by the actual yield for the previous year, adjusted for abnormal weather conditions, on the farm to which the allotment is transferred: Provided further, That, notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, the adjustment made in any peanut allotment because of the transfer to a higher producing farm shall not reduce or increase the size of any future National or State allotment and an acreage equal to the total of all such adjustment shall not be allotted to any other farms. (7 U.S.C. 1358a (b).)

(c) The transfer of an allotment shall have the effect of transferring also the acreage history and marketing quota attributable to such allotment and if the transfer is made prior to the determination of the allotment for any year the transfer shall include the right of the owner or operator to have an allotment determined for the farm for such year: Provided, That in the case of a transfer by lease the amount of the allotment shall be considered, for the purpose of determining allotments after the expiration of the lease, to have been planted on the farm from which such allotment is transferred. (7 U.S.C. 1358a (c).)

(d) The land in the farm from which the entire peanut allotment has been transferred shall not be eligible for a new farm peanut allot