[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 126 (Monday, June 30, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 36839-36840]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-14694]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Commodity Credit Corporation


2008 Direct and Counter-Cyclical Program

AGENCY: Commodity Credit Corporation, USDA.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: As announced by this notice, the Commodity Credit Corporation 
(CCC) is implementing the provisions of the Food, Conservation, and 
Energy Act of 2008 (the 2008 Farm Bill) regarding direct and counter-
cyclical payments for the 2008 crop year. The 2008 Farm Bill authorizes 
direct and counter-cyclical payments, with some changes, that were 
previously authorized for preceding crops under the Farm Security and 
Rural Investment Act of 2002 (the 2002 Farm Bill). As a result of this 
notice, CCC will be able to commence administration of the Direct and 
Counter-cyclical Program (DCP) for the 2008 crop. Through a subsequent 
rule, CCC will implement DCP for the 2009 through 2012 crops.

EFFECTIVE DATE: June 30, 2008.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Salomon Ramirez, Director, Production, 
Emergencies and Compliance Division, Farm Service Agency, USDA, STOP 
0517, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20250-0517; 
telephone: (202) 720-7641; e-mail: [email protected]. 
Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for 
communication (Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact 
the USDA Target Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TDD).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: As explained in this notice, CCC will 
operate the 2008 DCP program as required by the 2008 Farm Bill using 
the

[[Page 36840]]

standards of 7 CFR 1412 to the extent they are not in conflict with the 
2008 Farm Bill and this notice. With a few changes, the Food, 
Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (Pub. L. 110-246) (the 2008 Farm 
Bill) authorizes a continuation for the 2008 crop year of the Direct 
and Counter-cyclical Program authorized by the Farm Security and Rural 
Investment Act of 2002 (the 2002 Farm Bill) and set forth in 
regulations at 7 CFR 1412.
    Section 1001 of the 2008 Farm Bill provides that the base acres and 
yields established by the 2002 Farm Bill that were in effect on 
September 30, 2007 will, with a few exceptions, constitute the base 
acres for the 2008 through 2012 crop years. The 2008 Farm Bill contains 
requirements for adjustments of base acres for various reasons 
including, but not limited to, land no longer being devoted to 
agricultural uses.
    With respect to payment yields, the 2008 Farm Bill provides that 
the payment yields for direct and counter cyclical payments under the 
2002 Farm Bill, as in effect on September 30, 2007, will be used. 
Section 1102 further requires the Secretary to establish a payment 
yield for direct and counter-cyclical payments for each farm for any 
designated oilseed or eligible pulse crop for which a payment yield was 
not established under the 2002 Farm Bill. For new yields, this will 
involve a determination of an average yield per planted acre for the 
designated oilseed or pulse crop on a farm for the 1998 through 2001 
crop years, excluding any crop year in which the acreage planted was 
zero. An adjustment to the payment yield will equal the product of the 
average yield and the ratio resulting from dividing the national 
average yield for the 1981 through 1985 crops by the national average 
for the 1998 through 2001 crops. If the yield for a farm for any of the 
1998 through 2001 crop years was less than 75 percent of the county 
yield, then the Secretary will assign a yield equal to 75 percent of 
the county yield to determine the average.
    Like with the 2002 Farm Bill, the 2008 Farm Bill sets forth certain 
requirements to which the participant must agree to be eligible for 
direct and counter-cyclical payments. Included in these requirements is 
the requirement to effectively control noxious weeds and otherwise 
maintain the land in accordance with sound agricultural practices. 
These provisions will continue to be applicable in 2008.
    One significant change in the 2008 Farm Bill that was not present 
in the 2002 Farm Bill, which will be implemented in 2008, relates to 
farms with small bases. A producer on a farm may not receive DCP 
payments if the sum of the base acres of the farm is 10 acres or less. 
However, such prohibition does not apply to a farm that is wholly owned 
by socially disadvantaged or limited resource farmers or ranchers, as 
provided by Section 1101 of the 2008 Farm Bill. If the farm is owned by 
a legal entity, such as a corporation, each shareholder, partner, or 
member of the entity must be a socially disadvantaged or limited 
resource farmer or rancher. Effective with the date of publication of 
this notice, to be assured that producers on farms with base acres of 
10 acres or less are prohibited from receiving payments as provided in 
the 2008 Farm Bill, Farm Service Agency County Committees (COC) will 
not approve requests for farm combination reconstitutions of farms 
having base acres of 10 acres or less if the request was received after 
the date of enactment of the 2008 Farm Bill (May 22, 2008). However, as 
an exception to the above rule, a farm with a total of 10 base acres or 
less may combine with another farm if one of the farms undergoes a 
change in land ownership. To qualify for this exception the owners of 
each of the farms participating in the new combination must be 
identical and have identical shares in both farms.
    Subject to subsections (b) and (c) of section 1108 of the 2008 Farm 
Bill, for the purposes of determining the amount of the counter-
cyclical payments to be paid to the producers on a farm for long grain 
rice and medium grain rice under section 1104 of the 2008 Farm Bill, 
base acres on the farm will be apportioned based on acreage planted to 
long grain rice and medium grain rice during the 2003-2006 crop years. 
Section 1108 requires that base acres, payment acres, and payment 
yields established with respect to rice under sections 1101 and 1102 be 
maintained. Although these provisions of the 2008 Farm Bill are 
effective for the 2008 crop year, because of administrative concerns 
related to the late date of enactment of the 2008 Farm Bill, these 
calculations cannot be accomplished at this time, as counter-cyclical 
payments are not anticipated for rice in 2008. This should have no 
impact. If the situation changes, measures will be taken to implement 
these provisions.
    In response to concerns regarding the sharing of contract payments 
and various forms of cash and share leases (such as traditional cash 
leases, traditional share leases, and combination or flex leases that 
have features of both traditional cash and traditional share leases), 
an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking was issued on September 28, 
2007 (72 FR 55105-55108). Accordingly, regulations will be issued to 
clarify that for the purpose of determining payments made with respect 
to the 2009 through 2012 crop years, combination or flex leases will be 
viewed as cash leases.
    The final enrollment date for 2008 DCP is September 30, 2008. A DCP 
contract not having all requisite signatures of producers having more 
than a zero share of DCP contract acreage on or before the enrollment 
deadline will not be considered submitted to CCC for any purpose and 
will not be acted on or approved. With respect to those contracts 
submitted by a producer on or before September 30, 2008, that were not 
signed by other producers on the farm, DCP payments will be issued only 
with respect to the producers who enrolled prior to September 30, 2008.
    Accordingly, this notice announces that CCC will implement DCP 
provisions for the 2008 crop year based on the current regulation in 7 
CFR 1412, Direct and Counter-cyclical Program except as otherwise noted 
in this Notice and as otherwise required by the 2008 Farm Bill.

Environmental Review

    FSA has determined that this change would not constitute a major 
Federal action that would significantly affect the quality of the human 
environment. Therefore, in accordance with the 7 CFR 799, Environmental 
Quality and Related Environmental Concerns--Compliance with the 
National Environmental Policy Act, implementing the regulations of the 
Council on Environmental Quality (40 CFR 1500-1508), no environmental 
assessment or environmental impact statement will be prepared.

    Signed at Washington, DC, on June 24, 2008.
Glen L. Keppy,
Acting Executive Vice President, Commodity Credit Corporation.
[FR Doc. E8-14694 Filed 6-27-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-05-P