[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 209 (Friday, October 29, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 63134-63136]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-24290]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Farm Service Agency


Florida Citrus, Fruit, Vegetable, and Nursery Crop Disaster 
Programs

AGENCY: Farm Service Agency, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of program implementation.

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SUMMARY: This notice announces the availability of disaster relief for 
producers of citrus, selected tropical fruits, vegetables, fruits and 
nursery crops located in Florida counties that have received a 
Presidential disaster declaration for Hurricanes Charley, Frances, or 
Jeanne in order to reestablish producers' purchasing power in the 
following Presidentially-declared disaster counties, and any other such 
counties subsequently declared by the President: Alachua, Baker, Bay, 
Bradford, Brevard, Broward, Calhoun, Charlotte, Citrus, Clay, Collier, 
Columbia, DeSoto, Dixie, Duval, Escambia, Flagler, Franklin, Gadsden, 
Gilchrist, Glades, Gulf, Hamilton, Hardee, Hendry, Hernando, Highlands, 
Hillsborough, Holmes, Indian River, Jackson, Jefferson, Lafayette, 
Lake, Lee, Leon, Levy, Liberty, Madison, Manatee, Marion, Martin, 
Miami-Dade, Monroe, Nassau, Okaloosa, Okeechobee, Orange, Osceola, Palm 
Beach, Pasco, Pinellas, Polk, Putnam, Santa Rosa, Sarasota, Seminole, 
St. Johns, St. Lucie, Sumter, Suwannee, Taylor, Union, Volusia, 
Wakulla, Walton, and Washington.

EFFECTIVE DATE: October 28, 2004.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Eloise Taylor, Branch Chief, 
Compliance Branch, Production, Emergencies, and Compliance Division, 
Farm Service Agency (FSA), USDA, STOP 0517, 1400 Independence Avenue, 
SW., Washington, DC 20250-0517; phone: (202) 720-9882; fax: (202) 720-
4941; e-mail: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    Section 32 of the Agricultural Act of August 24, 1935, allows the 
Secretary of Agriculture to make payments to restore producers' 
purchasing power. This authority has been used in the past to provide 
assistance to producers in response to unusual market conditions that 
adversely affected producers. Similarly, the widespread and significant 
destruction that resulted in Florida from Hurricanes Charley, Frances, 
and Jeanne has adversely affected the purchasing power of certain 
producers of agricultural commodities in those counties listed in the 
summary paragraph of this notice. Accordingly, the Secretary of 
Agriculture has determined that assistance is appropriate under this 
authority, in these counties, for producers of crops of citrus, 
nursery, vegetables, fruits and selected tropical fruits. Payment rates 
under each program will be as announced by FSA.

Notice and Comment

    Because of the need to provide timely assistance to disaster 
affected producers, this program is effective immediately without 
regard to the provisions of 5 U.S.C. 553 and the Statement of Policy of 
the Secretary of Agriculture dated July 24, 1971 (36 FR 13804).

Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act

    In accordance with 5 U.S.C. 808, because the payments provided 
under this notice need to be made to affected producers as timely as 
possible, it was determined that a delay for consultation, review, and 
comment on this notice would be impracticable and contrary to the 
public interest. Thus, this notice is effective immediately.

Paperwork Reduction Act

    A request for emergency clearance of the information collections 
associated with this notice was submitted to the Office of Management 
and Budget (OMB) under 5 CFR 1320.13 (a)(2)(iii), and has been approved 
by OMB and assigned OMB control number 0560-0247.

Environmental Review

    Due to the weather-related disasters requiring the Agency to 
provide immediate relief, sufficient time was not available to complete 
an environmental review prior to implementing this program. Therefore, 
an environmental assessment is being completed to consider the 
potential impacts of this proposed action on the human environment in 
accordance with the provisions of the National

[[Page 63135]]

Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), 42 U.S.C. 4321, et seq., the 
regulations of the Council on Environmental Quality (40 CFR parts 1500-
1508), and FSA's regulations for compliance with NEPA at 7 CFR part 
799. A copy of the draft environmental assessment will be available 
after completion for review upon request.

II. Application Process

    Producers wishing to receive benefits must submit an application to 
FSA at their local FSA Service Center during the signup periods, 
beginning as follows:
    Florida Citrus Disaster Program--October 5, 2004.
    Florida Nursery Disaster Program--October 20, 2004.
    Florida Fruit and Vegetable Disaster Program--October 20, 2004.
    Signup will end on such date as announced by FSA. Applications for 
assistance are available at local FSA Service Centers.

III. Payment Limitation

    (a) Consistent with the other crop disaster assistance programs of 
FSA and CCC, the total amount of payments made under this notice that a 
``person'' may receive can not exceed $80,000. As set forth in the 
individual descriptions of each program, payment limitation rules in 7 
CFR part 1400.301 will be used in applying this limit to specified 
portions of the payment made under this notice. Producers who receive 
payments for citrus, fruits, vegetables, tropical fruits, and/or 
nursery crops may receive no more than a combined $80,000 for payments 
subject to the payment limitation for any or all of the programs in 
this notice. This payment limitation is separate and distinct from all 
other Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) and FSA program payment 
limitations.
    (b) Adjusted gross income (AGI) rules in 7 CFR 1400.600 also apply 
to persons receiving payments under this notice with respect to that 
portion of the payment subject to the $80,000 limitation. Generally, 
these regulations provide that payments will not be available for 
persons whose adjusted gross income is $2.5 million or higher, unless 
75 percent or more of their income is derived from farming, ranching, 
and forestry. These provisions do not apply to payments that are not 
subject to limitation. A portion of these payments are similar to the 
payments made under the Emergency Conservation Program (ECP), which 
pays for losses associated with weather damage that materially affects 
productive capacity and is required to return the land to productive 
agricultural uses. Accordingly, in determining whether or not to 
provide this assistance, the portion of the payment associated with 
clean-up and rehabilitation is not subject to AGI.
    (c) The highly erodible land and wetland conservation rules in 7 
CFR part 12 apply to this notice.
    (d) The controlled substance rules in 7 CFR 718 apply.

IV. Florida Citrus Disaster Program

    (a) Eligible producers are those producers who maintain groves of 
fruit being trees of citrus types approved by the Risk Management 
Agency (RMA), in its Florida Citrus Fruit Crop provisions, and as 
otherwise announced by FSA. Producers that had not marketed citrus in 
both 2003 and 2004 are not eligible for this assistance, except 
producers of groves that will be of fruit-bearing age for 2005, but 
were too immature to produce marketable fruit in 2003 or 2004, will be 
eligible for such assistance. For the purposes of this notice, a grove 
is defined as a contiguous acreage of the same citrus crop.
    (b) Citrus producers will be reimbursed on a per-acre basis for 
each eligible grove. Payment will be based on the severity of 
destruction as determined by the paths of the storms and damage 
estimates developed by FSA in cooperation with the Florida Department 
of Agriculture. Estimates take into account levels of loss generally 
correlating to the distance from the eyes of the hurricanes, the 
average production loss, tree loss and rehabilitation and cleanup 
costs. The levels of damage that will determine payment rates are as 
follows:
    Tier I--75 percent or greater crop loss and associated tree damage.
    Tier II--50 to 74 percent crop loss and associated tree damage.
    Tier III--35 to 49 percent crop loss and associated tree damage.
    Tier IV--15 percent and greater associated tree damage only.
    A copy of the map showing the loss tiers for citrus is available on 
the FSA Disaster Assistance Web site at http://disaster.fsa.usda.gov 
and at FSA Service Centers. Citrus producers who suffered citrus crop 
production losses and associated fruit-bearing tree damage, including 
related cleanup and rehabilitation costs, must provide to FSA a 
certified statement on an FSA approved form of the level of 
destruction, the number of acres in the disaster-affected grove, and 
the geographic location of the losses.
    (c) If the actual level of loss is greater than the tier associated 
with the location band for the grove, based upon documentation 
submitted by the producer to FSA, FSA may assign the grove to a lower 
tier which represents a greater level of loss and a higher payment 
rate.
    (d) If the actual level of loss is less than the tier associated 
with the location band for the grove, the producer shall certify to the 
lower loss level on the application and a lower payment rate will be 
used by FSA based upon the tier rate associated with the lower loss 
level.
    (e) Payments will be calculated by multiplying the number of net 
acres in each tier times the applicable payment rate, as determined by 
FSA, times the producer's share of the loss. The number of net acres is 
determined by subtracting drainage ditches, canals, and other such land 
uses from the citrus acres planted in the grove.
    (f) The percentages of the payment for citrus crops that are 
subject to the payment limitation and AGI provisions are:
    Tier I--55 percent
    Tier II--60 percent
    Tier III--64 percent
    Tier IV--0 percent
    (g) The percentages of the payment for citrus crops that are not 
subject to the payment limitation and AGI provisions are:
    Tier I--45 percent
    Tier II--40 percent
    Tier III--36 percent
    Tier IV--100 percent

V. Florida Nursery Disaster Program

    (a) Commercial ornamental nursery and fernery producers are 
eligible for assistance for inventory losses for each nursery or 
fernery operation and clean-up costs for nursery operations. For a 
nursery to be considered a commercial nursery, it must be certified by 
the State of Florida. Eligible producers include producers of the 
following types of nursery stock and such stock as announced by FSA:
     Deciduous shrubs, broadleaf evergreens, coniferous 
evergreens, shade and flowering trees.
     Stock for use as propagation in a commercial ornamental 
nursery operation.
     Fruit or nut seedlings grown for sale as seed stock for 
commercial orchard operations growing fruit or nuts.
    (b) Eligible nursery inventory does not include:
     Edible varieties.
     Plants produced for reforestation purposes or for the 
purpose of producing a crop for which RMA does not provide insurance, 
or for which CCC does not provide assistance under the Non-insured 
Assistance Program (NAP).

[[Page 63136]]

    (c) Losses will be determined on an individual-nursery basis. 
Production loss from one nursery will not be offset by production from 
another nursery operated by the same applicant. Payments are calculated 
by multiplying the difference between beginning and ending inventory 
value times 25 percent times the producer's share of the loss. The 
payment for production loss is subject to the $80,000 payment 
limitation and AGI provisions.
    (d) Producers are also eligible for a payment of $250 per acre for 
debris removal and associated costs from hurricane damage if they can 
document that these costs were equal to or greater than $250 per acre. 
None of the payment for cleanup is subject to the payment limitation 
and AGI provisions. Producers must provide the inventory value before 
the hurricane and the inventory value after the hurricane. The value of 
the inventory is the producer's wholesale price list, less the maximum 
customer discount they provide, not to exceed the prices in RMA's 
``Eligible Plant List and Price Schedule.''

VI. Florida Vegetable, Fruit and Tropical Fruit Disaster Program

    (a) Producers of vegetables, fruits and selected tropical fruit are 
eligible for assistance. Payments will be made on a per-acre basis, and 
are based on the type of planting application or method installed or 
completed on the date and time the hurricanes occurred in that area.
    (b) Plasticulture refers to production practices where the soil has 
been covered with plastic mulch, fumigated, fertilized, and with an 
irrigation system installed. For plasticulture losses, producers must 
have a loss that is 50 percent or greater of plastic or plant 
population, as applicable. Producers must also document that the 
necessary materials and procedures were followed to produce vegetables 
using any of the practices. Payments are calculated by multiplying the 
payment rate for each practice times the affected acres in the practice 
times the producer's share of that crop. A portion of the payment that 
is associated with production losses is subject to the $80,000 payment 
limitation and AGI provisions. The payment associated with debris 
removal and associated costs from hurricane damage are not subject to 
payment limitation or AGI. Plasticulture includes the following 
practices:
    (1) Practice I--the producer laid down new plastic, fumigated the 
soil, put in transplants and had a loss or removal of more than 50 
percent of the plastic per acre requiring the replacement of preplant 
inputs and plastic.
    (2) Practice II--the producer laid down new plastic, fumigated the 
soil, but did not put in transplants and had a loss or removal of more 
than 50 percent of the plastic per acre requiring the replacement of 
preplant inputs and plastic; or the producer laid down new plastic with 
50 percent or more loss in plant population and did not re-plant due to 
cultural or weather related limitations.
    (3) Practice III--the producer double-cropped with respect to the 
plastic and had a loss of greater than 50 percent of the plastic per 
acre; or the producer laid down new plastic with 50 percent or more 
loss in plant population and replanted.
    (c) Practice IV--The producer who plants conventional row crop 
fruits and vegetables must suffer a loss of 50 percent or more of the 
plant population. Payments are calculated by multiplying the number of 
acres affected by the loss times the payment rate times the producer's 
share of the crop. All payments are subject to the total payment 
limitation and AGI provisions.
    (d) Practice V--For tropical fruit producers, only those producers 
in Lee County or in Bands 1 or 2 designated under the Florida Citrus 
Program are eligible. Producers must have suffered a loss of 50 percent 
or more relative to their expected production, as defined in 7 CFR part 
1480.3. Payments are calculated by multiplying the number of acres 
affected by the payment rate times the producer's share of the crop. 
The total payment is subject to the payment limitation and AGI 
provisions.

VII. Payment Conditions for All Programs

    (a) Actual losses or costs for any program must equal or exceed the 
payment amount received for that program.
    (b) Payment rates will be 5 percent less for producers who did not 
obtain Federal Crop Insurance, which is available from the Risk 
Management Agency, or on coverage from CCC under NAP.
    (c) Eligible producers who elected not to purchase insurance on an 
insurable crop, or NAP coverage on an uninsurable crop for which 
benefits are received under any of these programs, must purchase for 
the next available coverage period:
    (1) Crop insurance at least at the catastrophic level on that crop, 
although producers who are required to purchase a citrus insurance 
policy may elect to purchase a fruit or tree policy;
    (2) NAP coverage for the next available coverage period by paying 
the administrative fee and filing all required paperwork by the 
applicable State filing deadline.
    (d) If a producer who is required to purchase crop insurance or NAP 
for the applicable year fails to do so, the producer must refund the 
disaster payment.

VIII. Appeals

    Any person who is dissatisfied with a determination made with 
respect to these programs may make a request for reconsideration or 
appeal of such determination in accordance with the regulations set 
forth in 7 CFR parts 11 and 780.

    Signed in Washington, DC, on October 25, 2004.
James R. Little,
Administrator, Farm Service Agency.
[FR Doc. 04-24290 Filed 10-28-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-05-P