[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 189 (Wednesday, September 30, 1998)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 52194-52198]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-26201]


 ========================================================================
 Proposed Rules
                                                 Federal Register
 ________________________________________________________________________
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 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.
 
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 

  Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 189 / Wednesday, September 30, 1998 / 
Proposed Rules  

[[Page 52194]]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Federal Crop Insurance Corporation

7 CFR Part 457

RIN 0563-AB69


Common Crop Insurance Regulations; Basic Provisions

AGENCY: Federal Crop Insurance Corporation, USDA.

ACTION: Proposed rule.

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SUMMARY: The Federal Crop Insurance Corporation (FCIC) proposes to 
amend the Common Crop Insurance Policy; Basic Provisions, to clarify 
certain provisions, add definitions and provisions to allow enterprise 
and whole farm units, allow the use of a written agreement to insure 
acreage that has not been planted and harvested in one of the three 
previous crop years, and amend the prevented planting provision that 
requires that at least one contiguous block of prevented planting 
acreage must constitute at least 20 acres or 20 percent of the 
insurable crop acreage in the unit before a prevented planting payment 
may be made. The intended effect of this action is to create a policy 
that best meets the needs of the insured.

DATES: Written comments and opinions on this proposed rule will be 
accepted until close of business October 13, 1998, and will be 
considered when the rule is to be made final.

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit written comments to 
the Director, Product Development Division, Federal Crop Insurance 
Corporation, United States Department of Agriculture, 9435 Holmes Road, 
Kansas City, MO 64131. A copy of each response will be available for 
public inspection and copying from 7:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., CDT, Monday 
through Friday, except holidays, at the above address.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information and a copy of 
the Cost-Benefit Analysis to the Common Crop Insurance Regulations; 
Basic Provisions, contact Louise Narber, Insurance Management 
Specialist, Research and Development, Product Development Division, 
Federal Crop Insurance Corporation, at the Kansas City, MO, address 
listed above, telephone (816) 926-7730.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Executive Order 12866

    The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has determined this rule 
to be significant and, therefore, it has been reviewed by OMB.

Cost-Benefit Analysis

    A Cost-Benefit Analysis has been completed and is available to 
interested persons at the Kansas City address listed above. In summary, 
the analysis finds that of the provisions in the proposed rule, that 
elimination of the contiguous acreage requirement for the purpose of 
determining eligible acreage prevented planting acres will have the 
most impact. Removal of this requirement is expected to have the 
greatest impact in certain regions of the Northern Plains, but the 
effect on overall crop insurance payments is expected to be small. It 
is estimated that additional indemnities resulting from this change 
will average $500,000.00 per year. Higher premium rates should cover 
the additional indemnities. Additional costs to the Government will be 
about $250,000.00 for premium subsidies, $110,000.00 in administrative 
subsidies, and $38,000.00 in underwriting losses. Other provisions of 
the rule serve to clarify provisions or allow changes that may cause 
slight changes in expected indemnities and premiums. Other than removal 
of the contiguous land requirement indicated above, little impact is 
foreseen.

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995

    The provisions contained in this rule contain information 
collections that require clearance by the Office of Management and 
Budget (OMB).
    This rule proposes to amend the information collection requirements 
previously approved by OMB under OMB control number 0563-0053 through 
October 31, 2000. This rule provides a prevented planting payment if at 
least 20 acres or 20 percent of the acreage in the unit is prevented 
from being timely planted, regardless of whether or not the acreage is 
contiguous, if all other criteria are met. Information will need to be 
collected with respect to the number of acres prevented from being 
planted in order to calculate a prevented planting payment. All of the 
forms cleared under OMB control number 0563-0053 represent the minimum 
information necessary to determine eligibility and losses qualifying 
for a payment due to prevented planting or loss of production.
    Due to the necessity of implementing the rule beginning with the 
1999 crop year, the Agency has requested emergency clearance of the 
information collections associated with this rule from OMB by September 
11, 1998. A Federal Register notice soliciting public comment in 
conjunction with a regular information collection approval package was 
published in the Federal Register on September 25, 1998.

Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995

    Title II of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (UMRA), 
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 UMRA) for State, local, and tribal 
governments or the private sector. Therefore, this rule is not subject 
to the requirements of sections 202 and 205 of UMRA.

Executive Order 12612

    It has been determined under section 6(a) of Executive Order 12612, 
Federalism, that this rule does not have sufficient federalism 
implications 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 power and responsibilities among the various levels of government.

Regulatory Flexibility Act

    This regulation will not have a significant economic impact on a 
substantial number of small entities. New provisions included in this 
rule will not impact small entities to a greater extent than large 
entities. The amount of work required of the insurance companies 
delivering and servicing these policies will not increase

[[Page 52195]]

from the amount of work currently required. 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 12372

    This program is not subject to the provisions of Executive Order 
12372 which requires 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 12988

    This rule has been reviewed in accordance with Executive Order 
12988 on civil justice reform. The provisions of this rule will not 
have a retroactive effect. 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 part 11 must be exhausted before any action against FCIC for 
judicial review may be brought.

Environmental Evaluation

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

Background

    FCIC proposes to amend the Common Crop Insurance Policy; Basic 
Provisions (Basic Provisions) (7 CFR part 457) effective for the 1999 
and succeeding crop years for all crops with contract change dates 
after the effective date of the final rule, and for the 2000 or 2001 
and succeeding crop years for all crops with contract change dates 
prior to the effective date of the final rule. The principal changes to 
the Basic Provisions are as follows:
    1. Section 1--Add definitions for ``enterprise unit'' and ``whole 
farm unit.'' This unit arrangement is not currently available. The 
provisions are being amended to provide for them whenever the Special 
Provisions allow the use of such unit structure.
    In the definition of ``prevented planting,'' clarify that once the 
producer has been prevented from planting the insured crop by the final 
planting date, the producer is eligible for prevented planting 
coverage. The producer is not required to plant during the late 
planting period to be eligible for prevented planting coverage. Also 
specify that the insured must have been prevented from planting the 
insured crop due to an insured cause of loss that is general in the 
area and that prevents other producers from planting acreage with 
similar characteristics. Current provisions require that most (more 
than 50 percent) producers be prevented from planting on acreage with 
similar characteristics. This change allows prevented planting to be 
made on an individual case basis once it is verified that an insured 
peril prevented planting.
    2. Section 2(e)--Clarify that if any amount due, including premium, 
is not paid by the termination date, the insurance provider will take 
such action as authorized under 7 CFR part 400, subpart U, including 
determining the producer to be ineligible for crop insurance under the 
Act.
    3. Section 3(c)(4)--Add provisions requiring that if enterprise or 
whole farm units are selected, the insured must report the acreage and 
production for each basic unit that comprises the enterprise or whole 
farm unit for the previous crop year. If the producer fails to provide 
the required information, the enterprise or whole farm units will be 
divided into their respective basic units and all premiums and 
indemnities will be based on the basic units.
    4. Sections 6(a) (1) and (2)--Clarify that only if the producer 
insures multiple crops with the same insurance company can the producer 
submit an acreage report on or before the latest applicable acreage 
reporting date for all crops with an acreage reporting date within the 
specific time frame.
    5. Section 6(e)--Clarify that any determination under the 
subsection will be subject to the provisions contained in section 6(g).
    6. Section 9(a)(1)(i)(D)--Clarify that acreage not planted and 
harvested within one of the three previous crop years will be insurable 
if the reason the acreage was not planted was because a perennial tree, 
vine, or bush crop was grown on the acreage. The current regulations do 
not limit the perennial crop to a tree, vine, or bush crop. This 
clarification will prevent acreage that has been in perennial grasses 
from being insurable the first year it is brought back into crop 
production, unless the perennial grasses were used in a normal rotation 
practice as allowed by section 9(a)(1)(i)(B).
    7. Section 9(a)(1)(iii)--Allow a written agreement to provide 
insurance coverage for acreage that has not been planted and harvested 
within one of the three previous crop years.
    8. Section 15--Add a new subsection that requires a crop to be 
destroyed or the acreage put to another use before any indemnity can be 
paid. This change will prevent overpayments that may occur when actual 
harvested production is higher than appraised production.
    9. Section 16--Reformat the section to move the provision currently 
contained in section 16(b)(3) to a new section 16(d).
    10. Section 17(a)--Add a new paragraph that specifies that 
prevented planting coverage is not available if the producer planted 
the insured crop during or after the late planting period.
    11. Section 17(d)--Clarify that if a late planting period is 
applicable, that period will also be considered when determining if 
drought or failure of the irrigation water supply is an insurable cause 
of loss for the purposes of prevented planting.
    12. Section 17(e)(1)--In the chart headings, clarify that eligible 
acres are determined based on the 4 most recent crop years when the 
producer has planted any crop in the county for which prevented 
planting insurance was available or received a prevented planting 
guarantee within those 4 years.
    13. Section 17(f)(1)--Delete the provision that requires at least 
one contiguous block of acreage, consisting of at least 20 acres or 20 
percent of the insurable crop acreage in the unit, to be prevented from 
being planted in order to qualify for a prevented planting payment. The 
requirement that the prevented planting acreage must be contiguous was 
intended to reduce the instances in which prevented planting payments 
were made for potholes and other small portions of fields that are wet 
in most years, although planting occasionally may be possible. FCIC has 
received numerous complaints that a large number of acres could be 
prevented from being planted within a unit, but because the minimum 
contiguous acreage requirement is not met, no prevented planting 
payment can be made. For example, if a producer has a 100-acre unit, 
consisting of ten 10-acre fields that are not contiguous, even if all 
100 acres in the unit were prevented from being planted, a prevented 
planting payment could not be made because the minimum contiguous 
acreage requirement was not met. Removing the minimum contiguous 
acreage requirement, while still retaining the 20 acres or 20 percent 
of the insurable acreage requirement, will achieve the intended goal of 
not paying prevented planting claims when only a

[[Page 52196]]

small number of acres are prevented from being planted.
    Clarify that for a producer to claim that acreage that was 
prevented from being planted would have been planted to a different 
crop than the crop that was planted in the field, in addition to the 
requirement that the prevented planting acreage must constitute at 
least 20 acres or 20 percent of the insurable acreage in the field, the 
producer must have produced both crops in the same field in any one of 
the 4 most recent crop years. A 4 year period is consistent with the 
period used to determine eligible prevented planting acreage.
    14. Section 17(f)(5)--Add provisions to specify that if one of the 
crops being double-cropped is not insurable, other verifiable records 
of it being planted may be used since records of uninsured crops would 
not be included in the insured's actual production history (APH) 
database.
    15. Section 17(f)(11)--Add provisions to specify that prevented 
planting acreage insured under an irrigated practice will be limited to 
the number of acres allowed for that crop practice in sections 17 (e) 
and (f).
    16. Section 17(f)(12)--Allow prevented planting coverage for a crop 
type that was not planted in at least one of the 4 most recent years, 
if the producer received a prevented planting insurance guarantee for 
that type in at least one of the 4 most recent years. This change will 
enable a producer who insured and received a prevented planting 
insurance guarantee based on a specific type, although the producer did 
not plant that type within one of the 4 most recent years because he or 
she was prevented from doing so, to qualify for prevented planting 
coverage for that type for a subsequent crop year.
    17. Section 17(g)--Add a new section 17(g) that specifies that when 
a producer insures acreage of a crop under a limited or additional 
coverage policy and separately insures acreage of that crop, which has 
been designated as ``high risk'' under a catastrophic risk protection 
coverage policy, the maximum acreage eligible for a prevented planting 
payment will be limited for each policy as specified in sections 17 (e) 
and (f).
    18. Section 17(h)--Add a new section 17(h) to allow prevented 
planting coverage for a crop that a producer was prevented from 
planting, when that crop does not have eligible prevented planting 
acres established, by basing the coverage on a crop that has eligible 
prevented planting acreage established under the terms of the policy. 
The production guarantee or amount of insurance, premium and prevented 
planting payment would be calculated using the qualifying crop data. 
This provides prevented planting coverage on the basis of insurance 
history (i.e., what the insured has demonstrated in the past) rather 
than on intent to plant a specific crop.
    19. Section 24(e) For reinsured policies--Add language specifying 
that amounts the insured owes to the insurance provider may be 
collected through administrative offset from payments the insured 
receives from United States government agencies in accordance with 31 
U.S.C. chapter 37.
    20. Section 34--Add a new section 34(a) that allows a producer to 
elect an enterprise unit or a whole farm unit if provided for in the 
Special Provisions and the producer elects such unit structure on or 
before the earliest sales closing date for the insured crops.

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 457

    Crop insurance, Common crop insurance policy.

Proposed Rule

    Accordingly, as set forth in the preamble, the Federal Crop 
Insurance Corporation proposes to amend 7 CFR part 457 as follows:

PART 457--COMMON CROP INSURANCE REGULATIONS

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

    Authority: 7 U.S.C. 1506(1), 1506(p).


Sec. 457.2  [Amended]

    2. Amend Sec. 457.2(e) to remove the words ``paragraph 21'' and 
replace with the words ``paragraph 24''.


Sec. 457.8  [Amended]

    3. Amend Sec. 457.8 as follows:
    a. Amend section 1 of the Basic Provisions by adding definitions 
for ``enterprise unit'' and ``whole farm unit'' and revising the 
definition of ``prevented planting'' to read as follows:

1. Definitions

* * * * *
    Enterprise unit. All insurable acreage of the insured crop in 
the county in which you have a share on the date coverage begins for 
the crop year. An enterprise unit must consist of at least two basic 
units and at least 50 insurable acres.
* * * * *
    Prevented planting. Failure to plant the insured crop with 
proper equipment by the final planting date designated in the 
Special Provisions for the insured crop in the county or, if you 
elect to plant the insured crop during the late planting period, 
failure to plant the insured crop within the late planting period. 
You must have been prevented from planting the insured crop due to 
an insured cause of loss that is general in the surrounding area and 
that prevents other producers from planting acreage with similar 
characteristics.
* * * * *
    Whole farm unit. All insurable acreage of the insurable crops in 
the county in which you have a share on the date coverage begins for 
each crop for the crop year. A whole farm unit must consist of at 
least two crops and at least 50 insurable acres.
* * * * *
    b. Revise section 2(e) of the Basic Provisions to read as follows:

2. Life of Policy, Cancellation, and Termination

* * * * *
    (e) If any amount due, including premium, is not paid on or 
before the termination date for the crop on which the amount is due, 
you may be determined to be ineligible to participate in any crop 
insurance program authorized under the Act in accordance with 7 CFR 
part 400, subpart U.
* * * * *
    c. Amend section 3 of the Basic Provisions by adding a new 
paragraph (c)(4) to read as follows:

3. Insurance Guarantees, Coverage Levels, and Prices for Determining 
Indemnities

* * * * *
    (c) * * *
    (4) If you elect to obtain an enterprise or whole farm unit, you 
must report the acreage and production for each basic unit that 
comprises the enterprise or whole farm unit for the previous crop 
year. If you do not provide the information required herein, the 
enterprise or whole farm unit will be divided into its respective 
basic units and all premiums and indemnities will be based on the 
basic unit structure.
* * * * *
    d. Revise sections 6(a)(1) and (2) and 6(e) of the Basic Provisions 
to read as follows:

6. Report of Acreage

    (a) * * *
    (1) If you insure multiple crops with us that have final 
planting dates on or after August 15 but before December 31, you 
must submit an acreage report for all such crops on or before the 
latest applicable acreage reporting date for such crops; and
    (2) If you insure multiple crops with us that have final 
planting dates on or after December 31 but before August 15, you 
must submit an acreage report for all such crops on or before the 
latest applicable acreage reporting date for such crops.
* * * * *
    (e) We may elect to determine all premiums and indemnities based 
on the information you submit on the acreage report or upon the 
factual circumstances we determine to have existed, subject to the 
provisions contained in section 6(g).
* * * * *
    e. Revise sections 9(a)(1)(i)(D) and 9(a)(1)(iii) of the Basic 
Provisions to read as follows:

[[Page 52197]]

9. Insurable Acreage

    (a) * * *
    (1) * * *
    (i) * * *
    (D) Because a perennial tree, vine, or bush crop was grown on 
the acreage;
* * * * *
    (iii) The Crop Provisions or a written agreement specifically 
allow insurance for such acreage;
* * * * *
    f. Amend section 15 of the Basic Provisions to add a new paragraph 
(d) to read as follows:

15. Production Included in Determining Indemnities

* * * * *
    (d) If you elect to put the acreage to another use or abandon 
the crop and obtain an indemnity for a unit based on appraised 
production, the crop on the acreage must be destroyed or you must 
put the acreage to another use before any indemnity will be paid.
* * * * *
    g. Amend section 16(b)(2) of the Basic Provisions to add the word 
``and'' immediately following the semicolon.
    h. Remove section 16(b)(3) of the Basic Provisions and redesignate 
section 16(b)(4) as section 16(b)(3).
    i. Add a new section 16(d) of the Basic Provisions to read as 
follows:

16. Late Planting

* * * * *
    (d) Any acreage on which an insured cause of loss materially 
prevents completion of planting, as specified in the definition of 
``planted acreage'' (e.g., seed is broadcast on the soil surface but 
cannot be incorporated) will be considered as acreage planted after 
the final planting date and the production guarantee will be 
calculated in accordance with section 16(b)(1).
    j. Revise section 17(a) of the Basic Provisions to delete the word 
``and'' at the end of section 17(a)(1)(ii), add ``; and'' at the end of 
section 17(a)(2), and add a new section 17(a)(3) to read as follows:

17. Prevented Planting

    (a) * * *
    (3) You did not plant the insured crop during or after the late 
planting period.
* * * * *
    k. Revise sections 17(d) introductory text of the Basic Provisions 
to read as follows:

17. Prevented Planting

* * * * *
    (d) Drought or failure of the irrigation water supply will be 
considered to be an insurable cause of loss for the purposes of 
prevented planting only if either, on the final planting date, or 
within the late planting period if a late planting period is 
applicable:
* * * * *
    l. Revise the middle column heading in the table in section 
17(e)(1) of the Basic Provisions to read as follows:

    ``Eligible acres if, in any of the 4 most recent crop years, you 
have planted any crop in the county for which prevented planting 
insurance was available or have received a prevented planting 
insurance guarantee''
* * * * *
    m. Revise the last column heading in the table in section 17(e)(1) 
of the Basic Provisions to read as follows:

    ``Eligible acres if, in any of the 4 most recent crop years, you 
have not planted any crop in the county for which prevented planting 
insurance was available or have not received a prevented planting 
insurance guarantee''
* * * * *
    n. Revise sections 17(f)(1), (f)(11), and (f)(12) of the Basic 
Provisions to read as follows:

17. Prevented Planting

* * * * *
    (f) * * *
    (1) That does not constitute at least 20 acres or 20 percent of 
the insurable crop acreage in the unit, whichever is less. Any 
prevented planting acreage within a field that contains planted 
acreage will be presumed to have been planted to the same crop that 
is planted in the field unless the acreage that was prevented from 
being planted constitutes at least 20 acres or 20 percent of the 
total insurable acreage in the field and you produced both crops in 
the same field in the same crop year within any of the 4 most recent 
crop years;
* * * * *
    (11) Based on an irrigated practice production guarantee or 
amount of insurance unless adequate irrigation facilities were in 
place to carry out an irrigated practice on the acreage prior to the 
insured cause of loss that prevented you from planting. Acreage with 
an irrigated practice production guarantee will be limited to the 
number of acres allowed for that practice under sections 17(e) and 
(f); or
    (12) Based on a crop type that you did not plant or did not 
receive a prevented planting insurance guarantee in at least one of 
the four most recent years. Types for which separate price 
elections, amounts of insurance, or production guarantees are 
available must be included in your APH database in at least one of 
the most recent four years, or crops that do not require yield 
certification (crops for which the insurance guarantee is not based 
on APH) must be reported on your acreage report in at least one of 
the four most recent crop years except as allowed in section 
17(e)(1)(i)(B). We will limit prevented planting payments based on a 
specific crop type to the number of acres allowed for that crop type 
as specified in sections 17(e) and (f).
* * * * *
    o. Revise section 17(f)(5) of the Basic Provisions to add the 
following text to the end of the paragraph between the word ``acreage'' 
and the semicolon: ``(If one of the crops being double-cropped is not 
insurable, other verifiable records of it being planted may be used)''
    p. Redesignate section 17(g) of the Basic Provisions as 17(i) and 
add new sections 17(g) and (h) to read as follows:

17. Prevented Planting

* * * * *
    (g) If you purchased a limited or additional coverage policy for 
a crop, and you executed a High Risk Land Exclusion Option that 
separately insures acreage which has been designated as ``high 
risk'' land by FCIC under a Catastrophic Risk Protection Endorsement 
for that crop, the maximum number of acres eligible for a prevented 
planting payment will be limited for each policy as specified in 
sections 17(e) and (f).
    (h) If you are prevented from planting a crop for which you do 
not have an adequate base of eligible prevented planting acreage, as 
determined in accordance with section 17(e)(1), your prevented 
planting production guarantee or amount of insurance, premium, and 
prevented planting payment will be based on the most recent crops 
planted on the acreage, not to exceed the base eligible prevented 
planting acreage for those crops as established in section 17(e)(1). 
For example: You intended to plant 120 acres of soybeans and you 
have never planted more than 20 acres of soybeans in the previous 4 
crop years:
    (1) However, the previous crop year, you planted 60 acres of 
corn and 60 acres of processing tomatoes. Your prevented planting 
guarantee premium, and prevented planting payment will be based on 
20 acres of soybeans, 50 acres of corn (60/120  x  120-20) and 50 
acres of processing tomatoes (60/120  x  120-20), even though you 
may not have a processing contract for the current crop year.
    (2) You were only able to plant 30 acres of soybeans. The 
previous crop year you planted 90 acres of corn and 30 acres of 
oats. Your prevented planting guarantee, premium, and prevented 
planting payment will be based on 67.5 acres of corn (90/120  x  
120-30) and 22.5 acres of oats (30/120  x  120-30).
    (3) The previous crop year you were prevented from planting the 
acreage or did not attempt to plant a crop. However, just prior to 
the crop year in which no crop was planted on the acreage, you 
planted 120 acres of grain sorghum, your prevented planting 
guarantee, premium, and prevented planting payment will be based on 
20 acres of soybeans and 100 acres of grain sorghum.
    (4) The previous crop year you planted 120 acres of potatoes and 
the rotation requirements precluded you from planting potatoes this 
year. The crop year preceding your planting of potatoes, you planted 
120 acres of corn. Your prevented planting guarantee, premium, and 
prevented planting payment will be based on 20 acres of soybeans and 
100 acres of corn.

    q. Amend newly designated section 17(i)(2) of the Basic Provisions 
by changing the section reference therein from ``17(g)(1)'' to 
``17(i)(1).''
    r. Amend newly designated section 17(i)(3) of the Basic Provisions 
by changing the section reference therein from ``17(g)(2)'' to 
``17(i)(2).''

[[Page 52198]]

    s. Revise section 24(e) to read as follows:
* * * * *
    For reinsured policies

24. Amounts Due Us

* * * * *
    (e) Amounts owed to us by you may be collected through 
administrative offset from payments you receive from United States 
government agencies in accordance with 31 U.S.C. chapter 37.
* * * * *
    t. Amend section 34 of the Basic Provisions by redesignating 
sections 34(a) through 34(d) as sections 34(b) through 34(e) 
respectively, and adding a new section 34(a) to read as follows:
* * * * *

34. Unit Division

    (a) You may elect an enterprise unit or a whole farm unit if the 
Special Provisions allow such unit structure, subject to the 
following:
    (1) You must make such election on or before the earliest sales 
closing date for the insured crops and report such unit structure to 
us in writing. Your unit selection will remain in effect from year 
to year unless you notify us in writing by the applicable sales 
closing date for the crop year for which you wish to cancel this 
election;
    (2) For enterprise units, you must report the acreage for each 
basic unit that comprises the enterprise unit on your acreage 
report;
    (3) For a whole farm unit, you must report the acreage for each 
basic unit for each crop produced in the county that comprises the 
whole farm unit on your acreage report;
    (4) Although you may insure all of your crops under one policy 
as a whole farm unit, you will be required to pay separate 
applicable administrative fees for each crop (Since enterprise units 
are by separate crop, you will have to pay all applicable 
administrative fees for each crop); and
    (5) These units may not be further divided except as specified 
herein or in section 3(c)(4).
* * * * *
    Signed in Washington, D.C., on September 25, 1998.
John Zirschky,
Acting Manager, Federal Crop Insurance Corporation.
[FR Doc. 98-26201 Filed 9-28-98; 9:10 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-08-P