[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 211 (Wednesday, October 30, 1996)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 55928-55932]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-27769]


 ========================================================================
 Proposed Rules
                                                 Federal Register
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
 This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains notices to the public of 
 the proposed issuance of rules and regulations. The purpose of these 
 notices is to give interested persons an opportunity to participate in 
 the rule making prior to the adoption of the final rules.
 
 ========================================================================
 

  Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 211 / Wednesday, October 30, 1996 / 
Proposed Rules  

[[Page 55928]]



DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Federal Crop Insurance Corporation

7 CFR Part 457


Common Crop Insurance Regulations; Raisin Crop Insurance 
Provisions

AGENCY: Federal Crop Insurance Corporation.

ACTION: Proposed rule.

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SUMMARY: The Federal Crop Insurance Corporation (FCIC) proposes 
specific crop provisions for the insurance of raisins. The provisions 
will be used in conjunction with the Common Crop Insurance Policy Basic 
Provisions, which contain standard terms and conditions common to most 
crops. The intended effect of this action is to provide policy changes 
to better meet the needs of the insured and to include the current 
Raisin Endorsement with the Common Crop Insurance Policy for ease of 
use and consistency of terms.

DATES: Written comments, data, and opinions on this proposed rule will 
be accepted until close of business November 29, 1996 and will be 
considered when the rule is to be made final. The comment period for 
information collections under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 
continues through December 30, 1996.

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit written comments to 
the Chief, Product Development Branch, Federal Crop Insurance 
Corporation, United States Department of Agriculture, 9435 Holmes Road, 
Kansas City, MO 64131. Written comments will be available for public 
inspection and copying in room 0324, South Building, USDA, 14th and 
Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C., 8:15 a.m. to 4:45 p.m., 
est Monday through Friday, except holidays.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John Meyer, Program Analyst, Research 
and Development Division, Product Development Branch, FCIC, at the 
Kansas City, MO, address listed above, telephone (816) 926-7730.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Executive Order No. 12866

    This action has been reviewed under United States Department of 
Agriculture (USDA) procedures established by Executive Order No. 12866. 
This action constitutes a review as to the need, currency, clarity, and 
effectiveness of these regulations under those procedures. The sunset 
review date established for these regulations is April 30, 2001.
    This rule has been determined to be not significant for the 
purposes of Executive Order No. 12866 and, therefore, has not been 
reviewed by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995

    The information collection requirements contained in these 
regulations were previously approved by OMB pursuant to the Paperwork 
Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. chapter 35) under OMB control number 
0563-0003 through September 30, 1998.
    The title of this information collection is ``Catastrophic Risk 
Protection Plan and Related Requirements including, Common Crop 
Insurance Regulations; Raisin Crop Insurance Provisions.'' Information 
previously collected includes a crop insurance application and a raisin 
tonnage report. This rule also requires the insured to file a location 
and unit report to indicate an insured's acreage prior to the time 
insurance attaches. Submitting this report before insurance attaches 
will protect the integrity of the program by reducing the opportunity 
to inflate losses after damage occurs. Information collected from the 
location and unit reports, tonnage reports, and application is 
electronically submitted to FCIC by the reinsured companies. Potential 
respondents to this information collection are producers of raisins 
that are eligible for Federal crop insurance.
    The information requested is necessary for the reinsured companies 
and FCIC to provide insurance and reinsurance, determine eligibility, 
determine the correct parties to the agreement or contract, determine 
and collect premiums or other monetary amounts, and pay benefits.
    All information is reported annually. The reporting burden for this 
collection of information is estimated to average 16.9 minutes per 
response for each of the 3.6 responses from approximately 1,755,015 
respondents. The total annual burden on the public for this information 
collection is 2,669,970 hours.
    FCIC is requesting comments for the following: (a) Whether the 
proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper 
performance of the functions of the agency, including whether the 
information shall have practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the 
agency's estimate of the burden of the proposed collection of 
information; (c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of 
the information to be collected; and (d) ways to minimize the burden of 
the collection of information on respondents, including through the use 
of automated collection techniques or other forms of information 
gathering technology.
    Comments regarding paperwork reduction should be submitted to the 
Desk Officer for Agriculture, Office of Information and Regulatory 
Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, Washington, D.C. 20503 and to 
Bonnie Hart, USDA, FSA, Advisory and Corporate Operations Staff, 
Regulatory Review Group, P.O. Box 2415, STOP 0572, Washington, D.C. 
20013-2415, telephone (202) 690-2857. Copies of the information 
collection may be obtained from Bonnie Hart at the above address.

Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995

    Title II of the Unfunded Mandate Reform Act of 1995 (UMRA), Public 
Law 104-4, establishes requirements for Federal agencies to assess the 
effects of their regulatory actions on State, local, and tribal 
governments and the private sector.
    This rule contains no Federal mandates (under the regulatory 
provisions of title II of the UMRA) for State, local, and tribal 
governments or the private sector. Thus, this rule is not subject to 
the requirements of sections 202 and 205 of the UMRA.

Executive Order No. 12612

    It has been determined under section 6(a) of Executive Order No. 
12612, Federalism, that this rule does not have sufficient federalism 
implication to warrant the preparation of a Federalism Assessment. The 
provisions contained in this rule will not have a substantial direct 
effect on States or their political subdivisions, or on the 
distribution of

[[Page 55929]]

power and responsibilities among the various levels of government.

Regulatory Flexibility Act

    This regulation will not have a significant impact on a substantial 
number of small entities or treat small and large entities 
disproportionately. Under the current regulations, a producer is 
required to complete an application and tonnage report. If the crop is 
damaged or destroyed, the insured is required to give notice of loss 
and provide the necessary information to complete a claim for 
indemnity. These requirements apply to all insureds regardless of size, 
and this regulation does not alter these requirements. Although this 
rule requires each insured to file an additional report (a location and 
unit report), the required information is readily available. Further, 
the benefit of protecting program integrity outweighs any impact on the 
insured or insurance provider. Therefore, this action is determined to 
be exempt from the provisions of the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 
U.S.C. 605), and no Regulatory Flexibility Analysis was prepared.

Federal Assistance Program

    This program is listed in the Catalog of Federal Domestic 
Assistance under No. 10.450.

Executive Order No. 12372

    This program is not subject to the provisions of Executive Order 
No. 12372, which require intergovernmental consultation with State and 
local officials. See the Notice related to 7 CFR part 3015, subpart V, 
published at 48 FR 29115, June 24, 1983.

Executive Order No. 12778

    The Office of the General Counsel has determined that these 
regulations meet the applicable standards provided in sections 2(a) and 
2(b)(2) of Executive Order No. 12778. The provisions of this rule will 
preempt State and local laws to the extent such State and local laws 
are inconsistent herewith. The administrative appeal provisions 
published at 7 CFR parts 11 and 780 must be exhausted before any action 
for judicial review may be brought.

Environmental Evaluation

    This action is not expected to have a significant impact on the 
quality of the human environment, health, and safety. Therefore, 
neither an Environmental Assessment nor an Environmental Impact 
Statement is needed.

National Performance Review

    This regulatory action is being taken as part of the National 
Performance Review Initiative to eliminate unnecessary or duplicative 
regulations and improve those that remain in force.

Background

    FCIC proposes to add to the Common Crop Insurance Regulations (7 
CFR part 457), a new section, 7 CFR Sec. 457.124, Raisin Crop Insurance 
Provisions. The new provisions will be effective for the 1997 and 
succeeding crop years. These provisions will replace and supersede the 
current provisions for insuring raisins found at 7 CFR Sec. 401.142 
Raisin Endorsement. By separate rule, FCIC will revise 7 CFR 
Sec. 401.142 to restrict its effect through the 1996 crop year and 
later remove that section.
    This rule makes minor editorial and format changes to improve the 
Raisin Endorsement's compatibility with the Common Crop Insurance 
Policy. In addition, FCIC is proposing substantive changes in the 
provisions for insuring raisins as follows:
    1. Section 1--Add the definition of ``days,'' ``RAC,'' and 
``written agreement'' for clarification. A definition of ``location and 
unit report'' is also added to describe the form to be used to report 
acreage information prior to the time insurance attaches. Delete the 
definition of ``USDA Inspection'' because the term is no longer used.
    2. Section 3(c)(2)--Provisions allowing the use of tray weights to 
establish the number of insured tons when production is not removed 
from the vineyard have been deleted. Experience has proven that tray 
weights and counts may not be accurate indicators of production 
amounts. Instead, when appraisals are required, the amount of raisin 
tonnage lost will be determined in sample areas. These amounts will 
then be used to determine the total amount lost in the vineyard.
    3. Section 3(c)(3)--Add a provision indicating that raisins used 
for a purpose other than dry edible fruit will be considered to contain 
24.3 percent moisture if they contain greater than that amount at the 
time of delivery. Currently, available measurement techniques can not 
measure moisture amounts greater than this.
    4. Section 6--Add provisions that require the insured to report 
raisin acreage prior to the time insurance attaches. This will prevent 
adverse selection that is possible when insureds do not report any 
information until the end of the insurance period.
    5. Section 9--Add provisions adding total destruction of all 
raisins in the unit, final adjustment of the loss, and abandonment of 
the raisins as events that end the insurance period to be consistent 
with other crop policies.
    6. Section 11--Add provisions that authorize a reconditioning 
payment to be made when raisins are damaged by rain and are found to 
contain mold, embedded sand, micro-contamination in excess of Raisin 
Administrative Committee standards, or moisture in excess of 18 
percent. Previous provisions allowed a reduction in the value of raisin 
tonnage to count when production was reconditioned, but did not provide 
any benefit unless the value of delivered tonnage minus the 
reconditioning allowance was less than the amount of insurance for the 
unit. This payment, like replant payments on certain annual crops, is 
intended to mitigate potentially larger insurance benefit payments.
    7. Section 12--Add provisions indicating the specific information 
required from the insured when providing a notice of damage. Previous 
provisions did not specify what information was needed.
    8. Section 13(f)--Add provisions indicating that raisins discarded 
from trays or that are lost from trays scattered in the vineyard as 
part of normal handling will not have a value to count against the 
amount of insurance. These raisins cannot be salvaged and should not be 
considered as production to count.
    9. Section 14--Add provisions for providing insurance coverage by 
written agreement. FCIC has a long-standing policy of permitting 
certain modifications of the insurance contract by written agreement 
for some policies. This amendment allows FCIC to tailor the policy to a 
specific insured in certain instances. The new section will cover the 
procedures for, and duration of, written agreements.

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 457

    Crop insurance, Raisins, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.

    Pursuant to the authority contained in the Federal Crop Insurance 
Act, as amended (7 U.S.C. 1501 et seq.), the Federal Crop Insurance 
Corporation hereby proposes to amend the Common Crop Insurance 
Regulations (7 CFR part 457), effective for the 1997 and succeeding 
crop years, as follows:

PART 457--[AMENDED]

    1. The authority citation for 7 CFR part 457 continues to read as 
follows:

    Authority: 7 U.S.C. 1506(l), 1506(p).


[[Page 55930]]


    2. 7 CFR part 457 is amended by adding a new Sec. 457.124 to read 
as follows:


Sec. 457.124  Raisin crop insurance provisions.

    The Raisin Crop Insurance Provisions for the 1997 and succeeding 
crop years are as follows:

United States Department of Agriculture

Federal Crop Insurance Corporation

Raisin Crop Provisions

    If a conflict exists among the Basic Provisions (Sec. 457.8), 
these crop provisions, and the Special Provisions; the Special 
Provisions will control these crop provisions and the Basic 
Provisions; and these crop provisions will control the Basic 
Provisions.

1. Definitions

    Crop year--In lieu of the definition of ``Crop year'' contained 
in section 1 of the Basic Provisions (Sec. 457.8), the calendar year 
in which the raisins are placed on trays for drying.
    Days--Calendar days.
    Delivered ton--A ton of raisins delivered to a packer, 
processor, buyer or a reconditioner, before any adjustment for U. S. 
Grade B and better maturity standards, and after adjustments for 
moisture over 16 percent and substandard raisins over 5 percent.
    Location and Unit Report--A report that contains information 
regarding the acreage in each unit on which you intend to produce 
raisins for the crop year and your share.
    Non-contiguous land--Any two or more tracts of land whose 
boundaries do not touch at any point, except that land separated 
only by a public or private right-of-way, waterway, or an irrigation 
canal will be considered as contiguous.
    RAC--The Raisin Administrative Committee, which operates under 
an order of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).
    Raisins--The sun-dried fruit of varieties of grapes designated 
insurable by the Actuarial Table. These grapes will be considered 
raisins for the purpose of this policy when laid on trays in the 
vineyard to dry.
    Substandard--Raisins that fail to meet the requirements of U.S. 
Grade C, or layer (cluster) raisins with seeds that fail to meet the 
requirements of U.S. Grade B.
    Reference maximum dollar amount--The value per ton established 
by FCIC and shown in the Actuarial Table.
    Table grapes--Grapes grown for commercial sale as fresh fruit on 
acreage where appropriate cultural practices were followed.
    Ton--Two thousand pounds avoirdupois.
    Tonnage report--A report used to annually report, by unit, all 
the tons of raisins produced in the county in which you have a 
share.
    Written agreement--A written document that alters designated 
terms of this policy in accordance with section 14.

2. Unit Division

    (a) A unit as defined in section 1 (Definitions) of the Basic 
Provisions (Sec. 457.8), may be divided into additional basic units 
by each grape variety you insure.
    (b) Unless limited by the Special Provisions, a basic unit may 
be divided into optional units if, for each optional unit you meet 
all the conditions of this section or if a written agreement to such 
division exists.
    (c) Basic units may not be divided into optional units on any 
basis including, but not limited to, production practice, type, and 
variety, other than as described in this section.
    (d) If you do not comply fully with these provisions, we will 
combine all optional units that are not in compliance with these 
provisions into the basic unit from which they were formed. We will 
combine the optional units at any time we discover that you have 
failed to comply with these provisions. If failure to comply with 
these provisions is determined to be inadvertent, and the optional 
units are combined into a basic unit, that portion of the premium 
paid for the purpose of electing optional units will be refunded to 
you for the units combined.
    (e) All optional units established for a crop year must be 
identified on the location and unit report for that crop year.
    (f) The following requirements must be met to qualify for 
separate optional units:
    (1) You must have records of marketed production or measurement 
of stored production from each optional unit maintained in such a 
manner that permits us to verify the production from each optional 
unit, or the production from each unit must be kept separate until 
loss adjustment is completed by us; and
    (2) Separate optional units must be located on non-contiguous 
land.

3. Amounts of Insurance and Production Reporting

    In addition to the requirements of section 3 (Insurance 
Guarantees, Coverage Levels, and Prices for Determining Indemnities) 
of the Basic Provisions (Sec. 457.8):
    (a) You may select only one coverage level percentage for all 
the raisins in the county insured under this policy.
    (b) The amount of insurance for the unit will be determined by 
multiplying the insured tonnage by the reference maximum dollar 
amount, times the coverage level percentage you elect, and times 
your share.
    (c) Insured tonnage is determined as follows:
    (1) For units not damaged by rain--The delivered tons; or
    (2) For units damaged by rain--By adding the delivered tons to 
any verified loss of production due to rain damage. When production 
from a portion of the acreage within a unit is removed from the 
vineyard and production from the remaining acreage is lost in the 
vineyard, the amount of production lost in the vineyard will be 
determined based on the number of tons of raisin produced on the 
acreage from which production was removed; and
    (3) Insured tonnage will be reduced 0.12 percent for each 0.10 
percent of moisture in excess of 16.0 percent. When raisins contain 
moisture in excess of 24.3 percent at the time of delivery and are 
released for a use other than dry edible fruit (e.g. distillery 
material), they will be considered to contain 24.3 percent moisture. 
For example, 10.0 tons of raisins containing 18.0 percent moisture 
will be reduced to 9.760 tons of raisins. In addition, raisin 
tonnage used for dry edible fruit will be reduced by 0.10 percent 
for each 0.10 percent of substandard raisins in excess of 5.0 
percent.
    (d) Section 3(c) of the Basic Provisions is not applicable to 
this crop.

4. Contract Changes

    In accordance with section 4 (Contract Changes) of the Basic 
Provisions (Sec. 457.8), the contract change date is April 30 
preceding the cancellation date.

5. Cancellation and Termination Dates

    In accordance with section 2 (Life of Policy, Cancellation and 
Termination) of the Basic Provisions (Sec. 457.8), the cancellation 
and termination dates are July 31.

6. Location and Unit Report and Tonnage Report

    (a) In lieu of the provisions contained in section 6(a) of the 
Basic Provisions (Sec. 457.8) you must report by unit, and on our 
form, the acreage on which you intend to produce raisins for the 
crop year. This location and unit report must be submitted to us on 
or before the sales closing date, unless otherwise agreed to in 
writing, and contain the following information:
    (1) All acreage of the crop (insurable and not insurable) in 
which you will have a share by unit;
    (2) Your anticipated share at the time coverage will begin;
    (3) The variety; and
    (4) The location of each vineyard;
    (b) If you fail to file a location and unit report in a timely 
manner, or if the information reported is incorrect, we may elect to 
deny liability on any unit.
    (c) In addition to the location and unit report, you must 
annually report by unit, and on our form, the number of delivered 
tons of raisins, and if damage has occurred, the amount of any 
tonnage we determined was lost due to rain damage in the vineyard 
for each unit designated in the location and unit report.
    (d) The report of tonnage must be submitted to us as soon as the 
information is available, but no later than March 1 of the year 
following the crop year. Indemnities may be determined on the basis 
of information you submitted on this report. If you do not submit 
this report by the reporting date, we may, at our option, either 
determine the insured tonnage and share by unit or we may deny 
liability on any unit. This report may be revised only upon our 
approval. Errors in reporting units may be corrected by us at any 
time we discover the error.

7. Annual Premium

    In lieu of the premium computation method contained in section 7 
(Annual Premium) of the Basic Provisions (Sec. 457.8), the annual 
premium amount is determined by multiplying the amount of insurance 
for the unit at the time insurance attaches by the premium rate and 
then multiplying that result by any applicable premium adjustment 
factors that may apply.

[[Page 55931]]

8. Insured Crop

    (a) In accordance with section 8 (Insured Crop) of the Basic 
Provisions (Sec. 457.8), the crop insured will be all the raisins in 
the county of grape varieties for which a premium rate is provided 
by the Actuarial Table and in which you have a share.
    (b) For the purpose of determining the amount of indemnity, your 
share will not exceed the lower of your share at either the time 
that the raisins are first placed on trays for drying or are removed 
from the vineyard.
    (c) In addition to the raisins not insurable under section 8 
(Insured Crop) of the Basic Provisions (Sec. 457.8), we do not 
insure any raisins:
    (1) Laid on trays after September 8 in vineyards with north-
south rows in Merced or Stanislaus Counties, or after September 20 
in all other instances;
    (2) From table grape strippings; or
    (3) From vines that have had manual, mechanical, or chemical 
treatment to produce table grape sizing.

9. Insurance Period

    In lieu of the provisions of section 11 (Insurance Period) of 
the Basic Provisions (Sec. 457.8), insurance attaches at the time 
the raisins are placed on trays for drying and ends the earlier of:
    (a) October 20;
    (b) The date the raisins are removed from the trays;
    (c) The date the raisins are removed from the vineyard;
    (d) Total destruction of all raisins on a unit;
    (e) Final adjustment of a loss on a unit; or
    (f) Abandonment of the raisins.

10. Causes of Loss.

    (a) In accordance with the provisions of section 12 (Causes of 
Loss) of the Basic Provisions (Sec. 457.8), insurance is provided 
only against unavoidable loss of production resulting from rain that 
occurs during the insurance period and while the raisins are on 
trays or in rolls in the vineyard for drying.
    (b) In addition to the causes of loss excluded in section 12 
(Causes of Loss) of the Basic Provisions (Sec. 457.8), we will not 
insure against damage or loss of production due to inability to 
market the raisins for any reason other than actual physical damage 
from an insurable cause specified in this section. For example, we 
will not pay you an indemnity if you are unable to market due to 
quarantine, boycott, or refusal of a person to accept production.

11. Reconditioning Requirements and Payment

    (a) We may require you to recondition a representative sample of 
not more than 10 tons of damaged raisins to determine if they meet 
standards established by the RAC once reconditioned. If such 
standards are met, we may require you to recondition all the damaged 
production. If we require you to recondition any damaged production 
and if you do not do so, we will value the damaged production at the 
reference maximum dollar amount.
    (b) If the representative sample of raisins that we require you 
to recondition does not meet RAC standards for marketable raisins 
after reconditioning, the reconditioning payment will be the actual 
cost you incur to recondition the sample, not to exceed an amount 
that is reasonable and customary for such reconditioning, regardless 
of the coverage level selected.
    (c) A reconditioning payment, based on the actual (unadjusted) 
weight of the raisins, will be made if:
    (1) Insured raisin production:
    (i) Is damaged by rain within the insurance period;
    (ii) Is reconditioned by washing with water and then drying;
    (iii) Is insured at a coverage level greater than that 
applicable to the Catastrophic Risk Protection Plan of Insurance; 
and
    (2) The damaged production undergoes an inspection by USDA and 
is found to contain mold, embedded sand, or micro-contamination in 
excess of standards established by the RAC, or is found to contain 
moisture in excess of 18 percent; or
    (3) We give you consent to recondition the damaged production.
    (d) Your request for consent to any wash-and-dry reconditioning 
must identify the acreage on which the production to be 
reconditioned was damaged in order to be eligible for a 
reconditioning payment.
    (e) The reconditioning payment for raisins that meet RAC 
standards for marketable raisins after reconditioning will be the 
lesser of your actual cost for reconditioning or the amount 
determined by:
    (1) Multiplying the greater of $125.00 or the reconditioning 
dollar amount per ton contained in the Special Provisions by your 
coverage level;
    (2) Multiplying the result of 11(e)(1) by the actual number of 
tons of raisins (unadjusted weight) that are wash-and-dry 
reconditioned; and
    (3) Multiplying the result of 11(e)(2) by your share.
    (f) Only one reconditioning payment will be made for any lot of 
raisins damaged during the crop year. Multiple reconditioning 
payments for the same production will not be made.

12. Duties In The Event of Damage or Loss

    (a) In addition to the requirements of section 14 (Duties in the 
Event of Damage or Loss) of the Basic Provisions (Sec. 457.8), the 
following will apply:
    (1) If you intend to claim an indemnity on any unit, you must 
give us notice within 72 hours of the time the rain fell on the 
raisins. We may reject any claim for indemnity if such notice is 
later. You must provide us the following information when you give 
us this notice:
    (i) The grape variety;
    (ii) The location of the vineyard and number of acres; and
    (iii) The number of trays upon which the raisins have been 
placed for drying.
    (2) We will not pay any indemnity unless you:
    (i) Authorize us in writing to obtain all relevant records from 
any raisin packer, raisin reconditioner, the RAC, or any other 
person who may have such records. If you fail to meet the 
requirements of this subsection, all insured production will be 
considered undamaged and included as production to count; and
    (ii) Upon our request, provide us with records of previous 
years' production and acreage. This information may be used to 
establish the amount of insured tonnage when insurable damage 
results in discarded production.
    (b) In lieu of the provisions in section 14 (Duties in the Event 
of Damage or Loss) of the Basic Provisions (Sec. 457.8), that 
require you to submit a claim for indemnity not later than 60 days 
after the end of the insurance period, any claim for indemnity must 
be submitted to us not later than March 31 following the date for 
the end of the insurance period.

13. Settlement of Claim

    (a) We will determine your loss on a unit basis. In the event 
you are unable to provide separate acceptable production records:
    (1) For any optional unit, we will combine all optional units 
for which such production records were not provided; or
    (2) For any basic unit, we will allocate any commingled 
production to such units in proportion to our liability on the 
acreage from which raisins were removed for each unit.
    (b) In the event of loss or damage covered by this policy, we 
will settle your claim by:
    (1) Multiplying the insured tonnage of raisins by the reference 
maximum dollar amount and your coverage level percentage;
    (2) Subtracting from the total in paragraph (1) the total value 
of all insured damaged and undamaged raisins; and
    (3) Multiplying the result of paragraph (2) by your share.
    (c) Undamaged raisins or raisins damaged solely by uninsured 
causes will be valued at the reference maximum dollar amount.
    (d) Raisins damaged partially by rain and partially by uninsured 
causes will be valued at the highest prices obtainable, adjusted for 
any reduction in value due to uninsured causes.
    (e) Raisins that are damaged by rain, but that are reconditioned 
and meet RAC standards for raisins, will be valued at the reference 
maximum dollar amount.
    (f) The value to count for any raisins produced on the unit that 
are damaged by rain and not removed from the vineyard will be the 
larger of the appraised salvage value or $35.00 per ton, except that 
any raisins that are damaged and discarded from trays or are lost 
from trays scattered in the vineyard as part of normal handling will 
not be considered to have any value. You must box and deliver any 
raisins that can be removed from the vineyard.
    (g) At our sole option, we may acquire all the rights and title 
to your share of any raisins damaged by rain. In such event, the 
raisins will be valued at zero in determining the amount of loss and 
we will have the right of ingress and egress to the extent necessary 
to take possession, care for, and remove such raisins.
    (h) Raisins destroyed or put to another use without our consent 
will be valued at the reference maximum dollar amount.

14. Written Agreements

    Designated terms of this policy may be altered by written 
agreement in accordance with the following:

[[Page 55932]]

    (a) You must apply in writing for each written agreement no 
later than the sales closing date, except as provided in 14(e);
    (b) The application for a written agreement must contain all 
variable terms of the contract between you and us that will be in 
effect if the written agreement is not approved;
    (c) If approved, the written agreement will include all variable 
terms of the contract, including, but not limited to, crop type or 
variety, the amount of insurance per ton, and premium rate;
    (d) Each written agreement will only be valid for one year (If 
the written agreement is not specifically renewed the following 
year, insurance coverage for subsequent crop years will be in 
accordance with the printed policy); and
    (e) An application for a written agreement submitted after the 
sales closing date may be approved if, after a physical inspection 
of the acreage, it is determined that no loss has occurred and the 
crop is insurable in accordance with the policy and written 
agreement provisions.

    Signed in Washington, DC, on October 21, 1996.
Kenneth D. Ackerman,
Manager, Federal Crop Insurance Corporation.
[FR Doc. 96-27769 Filed 10-29-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-FA-P