[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 109 (Wednesday, June 6, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 30400-30402]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-14151]



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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Commodity Credit Corporation


Agricultural Management Assistance

AGENCY: Commodity Credit Corporation, United States Department of 
Agriculture.

ACTION: Notice of availability of program funds for agricultural 
management assistance.

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SUMMARY: This notice announces the availability of funds for 
Agricultural Management Assistance (AMA) to implement Section 524(b) of 
the Federal Crop Insurance Act, 7 U.S.C. 1524(b), as added by Section 
133 of the Agricultural Risk Protection Act of 2000, Public Law 106-
224. The Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) administers the funds under 
the general supervision of a Vice President of the CCC who is the Chief 
of the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). CCC is announcing 
the availability of funds under Section 524(b) of the Federal Crop 
Insurance Act. Section 524(b) authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture 
to use $10 million of CCC funds annually for cost share assistance to 
producers in 15 States in which participation in the Federal Crop 
Insurance Program is historically low. The 15 States include 
Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nevada, New 
Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Utah, 
Vermont, West Virginia, and Wyoming. The cost share assistance will 
encourage and assist producers in the selected States to adopt natural 
resources conservation practices and investment strategies that will 
reduce or mitigate risks to their agricultural enterprises.

DATES: Fund will be available from June 6, 2001 to September 30, 2001.

ADDRESSES: Address all comments to: Conservation Operations Division, 
Natural Resources Conservation Service, P.O. Box 2890, Washington, DC 
20013-2890.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mark W. Berkland, Director, or Gary 
Gross, AMA Program Manager, Conservation Operations Division, Natural 
Resources Conservation Service, P.O. Box 2890, Washington, D.C. 20013, 
(202) 720-1845, fax: 202-720-4265; Submit electronic comments to: 
[email protected] or [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    Section 524(b) of the Federal Crop Insurance Act, 7 U.S.C. 1524(b), 
was added by Section 133 of the Agricultural Risk Protection Act of 
2000, (Pub. L. 106-224, June 22, 2000). Section 524(b) authorizes the 
Secretary of Agriculture (Secretary) to use $10 million of CCC funds 
for cost share assistance in 15 States where participation in the 
Federal Crop Insurance program is historically low. The 15 States 
designated by the Secretary are Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, 
Massachusetts, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, 
Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Utah, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wyoming. 
The Risk Management Agency (RMA), Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), 
and NRCS will administer the funds in such amounts per agency as 
determined by the Secretary.
    Section 524(b)(2)(A), (B), and (C), provides for cost-share 
assistance to producers to: construct or improve water management 
structures or irrigation structures; plant trees for windbreaks or 
improve water quality; and mitigate risks through production 
diversification or resource conservation practices, including soil 
erosion control, integrated pest management, or transition to organic 
farming.
    Section 524(b)(2)(D) and (E), provides for cost-share assistance to 
producers to: enter into futures, hedging, or options contracts in a 
manner designed to help reduce production, price, or revenue risk; and 
enter into agricultural trade options as a hedging transaction to 
reduce production, price, or revenue risk.
    This notice deals with the funding administered by NRCS, 
approximately $6 million, to carry out the conservation provisions of 
Section 524(b)(2)(A),(B), and (C).
    The Chief of NRCS, on behalf of CCC, will determine the funds 
available to the States for financial and technical assistance in a 
fiscal year.
    The NRCS State Conservationist, in consultation with the State 
Technical Committee, will determine eligible practices using a locally 
led process. Eligible conservation practices will be those practices 
that improve soil or water management or water quality, or mitigate 
financial risk through resource conservation. AMA does not provide for 
incentive payments.
    There will be a continuous signup period, with ranking cutoff dates 
as determined by the State Conservationist in consultation with the 
State Technical Committee.
    The State Conservationist, in consultation with the State Technical 
Committee, will select applications based on State-developed ranking 
criteria and a ranking process, taking into account local and state 
priorities. The State Conservationist may also delegate the selection 
of applications to the local designated conservationist who will work 
in consultation with the local USDA Work Group.

AMA Requirements

    CCC will accept applications throughout the year. The State 
Conservationist, in consultation with the State Technical Committee, 
will widely distribute information on the availability of assistance 
and the State-specific goals. Information will be provided that 
explains the process to request assistance.
    Applicants must own or control the land for which assistance is 
being sought and agree to implement specific eligible conservation 
practices on the land. The applicants must meet the definition of 
``person'' as set out in Section 1001(5), of the Food Security Act, 7 
U.S.C. 1308(5), as determined by the Farm Service Agency (FSA). Any 
cooperative association of producers that markets commodities for 
producers shall not be considered to be a person eligible for payment. 
The status of an individual or entity on the date of the application 
shall be the basis on which the determination of the number of persons 
involved in the farming operation is made. There will be a 5 to 10 year 
cost share agreement period to install eligible practices. Cost share 
practices need to be maintained for the life of the practice. The 
maximum payment to any one person under the AMA program is $50,000 for 
any fiscal year.
    The Federal share of cost-share payments shall be 75 percent of the 
cost of an eligible practice(s), based on percent of actual cost, 
percent of actual cost with not-to-exceed limits, flat rates, or 
average costs. Producers will be paid upon certification of the 
completion of the approved practice(s). Producers may contribute to the 
application of a cost-share practice through in-kind contributions. 
Eligible in-kind contributions include: personal labor; use of personal 
equipment; donated labor or materials; and use of on-hand or used 
materials that meet the requirements for the practice to be installed. 
In no instance shall the total financial contributions for an eligible 
practice from all public and private entity sources exceed 100 percent 
of the actual cost of the practice. Cost-share payments will not be 
made to a participant who has applied or initiated the application of a 
conservation practice prior to approval of the cost share agreement.

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    Eligible participants must have control of the land for the life of 
the cost share agreement period. An exception may be made by the Chief 
of NRCS in the case of land allotted by the Bureau of Indian Affairs 
(BIA), tribal land, or other instances in which the Chief of NRCS 
determines that there is sufficient assurance of control; or the 
applicant is a tenant of the land involved in agricultural production 
and the applicant provides CCC with the written concurrence of the 
landowner in order to apply an eligible practice(s).
    Eligible land includes land used as agricultural land on which NRCS 
determines that assistance is needed to construct or improve watershed 
management structures or irrigation structures; plant trees to form 
windbreaks or to improve water quality; or to mitigate financial risk 
through production diversification or resource conservation practices, 
including soil erosion control, integrated pest management, or 
transition to organic farming. Additionally, land may only be 
considered for enrollment in AMA if NRCS determines that the land is 
privately-owned or publicly-owned where the land is under private 
control for the length of the cost share agreement and is included in 
the participant's operating unit. The conservation practices installed 
on public land must contribute to an improvement in the identified 
natural resource concern as well as benefit private land. The applicant 
must provide CCC with written authorization from the government 
landowner to apply the conservation practices. Land that is Federally 
recognized Tribal, BIA allotted, or Indian trust land may be considered 
for enrollment in AMA.
    Applicants must submit an application (CCC-1200 form) to CCC to be 
considered for participation in AMA. Any producer who has eligible land 
may obtain and submit an application for participation in AMA at a USDA 
service center. Producers who are members of a joint operation shall 
file a single application for the joint operation. A NRCS 
conservationist will work with the applicant to collect the information 
necessary to evaluate the application using the State-developed ranking 
criteria.

Conservation Plan Requirement

    A conservation plan is required for the area to be included in the 
AMA cost share agreement and becomes the basis for developing the cost 
share agreement. The conservation plan must be acceptable to NRCS; be 
approved by the local conservation district; be signed by the 
participant, designated conservationist, and the conservation district; 
and clearly identify the conservation practices that will be cost 
shared with AMA funds and the non-cost shared practices needed in the 
conservation plan.

Cost Share Agreement Requirements

    Participants will enter into a cost share agreement agreeing to 
implement eligible conservation practices. An AMA cost share agreement 
will incorporate by reference all portions of a unit applicable to AMA 
and be for a duration of 5 to 10 years.
    Cost share agreements will incorporate all provisions as required 
by law or statute, including requirements to not conduct any practices 
on the farm or ranch unit of concern that would tend to defeat the 
purposes of the cost share agreement; refund to CCC any AMA payments 
received with interest, and forfeit any future payments under AMA, on 
the violation of a term or condition of the cost share agreement; 
refund all AMA payments received on the transfer of the right and 
interest of the producer in land subject to the cost share agreement, 
unless the transferee of the right and interest agrees to assume all 
obligations of the cost share agreement; and supply information as 
required by CCC to determine compliance with the cost share agreement 
and requirements of AMA. The participant and NRCS must certify that a 
conservation practice is completed in accordance with the cost share 
agreement before CCC will approve any cost-share payments.
    With respect to land under an AMA cost share agreement which is 
inherited during the cost share agreement period, the $50,000 per 
fiscal year limitation to any person will not apply to the extent that 
the payments from any cost share agreements on the inherited land cause 
an heir, who was party to an AMA cost share agreement on other lands 
prior to the inheritance, to exceed the annual limit.
    With regard to cost share agreements on tribal land, Indian trust 
land, or BIA allotted land, payments exceeding $50,000 per fiscal year 
limitation may be made to the tribal venture if an official of the BIA 
or tribal official certifies in writing that no one person directly or 
indirectly will receive more than the fiscal year limitation.

Conservation Practice Operation and Maintenance

    The cost share agreement will provide for the operation and 
maintenance of the conservation practices applied under the cost share 
agreement. The participant will operate and maintain the conservation 
practices for their intended purposes as agreed-to as part of the cost 
share agreement, and form CCC-1245, Practice Approval and Payment 
Application.

Additional Requirements and Information

    Additional requirements and information pertaining to the AMA 
program relating to cost share agreements, administrative requirements, 
and other matters can be found on CCC form CCC-1200, Conservation 
Program Contract, and the appendix to form CCC-1200, both of which are 
available at local USDA service centers.

Civil Rights

    NRCS and CCC have collected civil rights data on farmers/ranchers 
participating in conservation programs. Based on past participation, it 
is estimated that the funding being made available with this notice 
will not negatively or disproportionately affect minorities, women, or 
persons with disabilities who are program beneficiaries or applicants 
for program benefits in NRCS or CCC assisted programs.

Environmental Evaluation

    This assistance, administered by NRCS, will be funded at a level 
for 2001 as determined by the Secretary. Depending on the level of 
funding, and based on the participation in existing soil and water 
conservation programs, it is estimated that this assistance could 
result in approximately 200 cost share agreements in the 15 States. On 
each farm or ranch, during the conservation planning process, the 
environmental effects of any proposed actions are evaluated on a case 
by case basis. That evaluation is used to determine whether further 
environmental analysis is required. Accordingly, neither an 
Environmental Assessment nor an Environmental Impact Statement has been 
prepared for this notice.

    Signed in Washington, DC, on May 23, 2001.
Thomas A. Weber,
Deputy Chief for Programs, Natural Resources Conservation Service.
[FR Doc. 01-14151 Filed 6-5-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 341

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