EXEMPTIONS.

SEC. 1412. EXEMPTIONS. (a) Conservation Compliance.— Section 1212(a) of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3812(a)) is amended by adding at the end thereof the following new paragraphs: “(3) Any person who owns or operates highly erodible land that was the subject of a contract entered into under subchapter B of chapter 1 of subtitle D shall, if the conservation plan established under this subtitle for such land requires structures to be constructed, have until 2 years after the expiration of such contract to comply with the conservation plan, or a longer period of time if the Secretary determines compliance is otherwise technically or economically not feasible, or such longer period is otherwise appropriate, before such person will be subject to program ineligibility with respect to such land under section 1211. “(4) On the expiration of a contract entered into under subchapter B of chapter 1 of subtitle D, the provisions of this subtitle shall apply to the acreage that was the subject of such contract.”. (b) Inadvertent Actions; Reduction in Certain Payments, Loans, and Assistance.— Section 1212 of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3812) is amended— (1) in subsection (b)(1), by inserting “or” after the semicolon; 104 STAT. 3570 (2) in subsection (b)(2), by striking the semicolon and inserting a period; (3) by redesignating subsection (c) as subsection (d); (4) by redesignating the paragraphs (3) through (5) of subsection (b) as paragraphs (1) through (3), respectively, of subsection (c) and by inserting after subsection (b)(2) the following: “(c) No person shall become ineligible under section 1211 for program loans, payments, and benefits as the result of the production of a crop of an agricultural commodity or the designation of land to be set aside, diverted, devoted to conservation uses, or otherwise not cultivated under a program administered by the Secretary to reduce production of an agricultural commodity (hereafter in this subsection referred to as ‘set aside’)— (5) in subsection (c)(1)(B), as amended by paragraph (4), by inserting “for the protection of highly credible land that has been set aside or” after “adequate”; and (6) in subsection (c)(2), as amended by paragraph (4)— (A) by inserting “or set aside” after “that is planted”; and (B) by inserting “or set aside” after “that was planted”. (c) Tenants.— Section 1212 of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3812) (as amended by subsection (b) of this section) is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection: “(e) If a tenant is determined to be ineligible for payments and other benefits under section 1211, the Secretary may limit such ineligibility only to the farm which is the basis for such ineligibility determination if— “(1) the tenant has established to the satisfaction of the Secretary that— “(A) the tenant has made a good faith effort to meet the requirements of this section, including enlisting the assistance of the Secretary to obtain a reasonable conservation compliance plan for such farm; and “(B) the landlord on the farm refuses to comply with such plan on such farm; and “(2) the Secretary determines that such lack of compliance is not a part of a scheme or device to avoid such compliance. The Secretary shall provide an annual report to the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate concerning the ineligibility determinations limited during the previous 12-month period under this subsection.”. (d) Graduated Sanctions, Highly Erodible Land Conservation.— Section 1212 of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3812) (as amended by subsection (c) of this section) is further amended by adding at the end thereof the following new subsection: “(f) (1) Except to the extent provided in paragraph (2), no person shall become ineligible under section 1211 for program loans, payments, and benefits as a result of the failure of such person to actively apply a conservation plan that documents the decisions of such person with respect to location, land use, tillage systems, and conservation treatment measures and schedules prepared under subsection (a), if the Secretary determines that such person has— “(A) not violated the provisions of section 1211 within the previous 5 years on a farm; and “(B) acted in good faith and without the intent to violate the provisions of this subtitle. 104 STAT. 3571 “(2) If the Secretary determines that a person who has failed to comply with the provisions of section 1211 meets the requirements of paragraph (1), the Secretary shall, in lieu of applying the ineligibility provisions in section 1211, reduce by not less than $500 nor more than $5,000, depending on the seriousness of the violation as determined by the Secretary, program benefits described in section 1211 that such producer would otherwise be eligible to receive in a crop year. “(3) Any person whose benefits are reduced in any crop year under this subsection shall continue to be eligible for all of the benefits described in section 1211 for any subsequent crop year if, prior to the beginning of such subsequent crop year, the Secretary determines that such person is actively applying a conservation plan prepared under subsection (a) according to the schedule set forth in such plan. “(4) Notwithstanding any other provision of this subtitle, no person shall become ineligible under section 1211 for program loans, payments, and benefits as a result of the failure of such person to actively apply a conservation plan that documents the decisions of such person with respect to location, land use, tillage systems, and conservation treatment measures and schedules prepared under subsection (a), if the Secretary— “(A) determines that such failure results in a violation of section 1211 that is technical and minor in nature and that such violation has a minimal effect on the erosion control purposes of the conservation plan applicable to the land on which such violations has occurred; “(B) determines that such failure is due to circumstances beyond the control of the person; or “(C) grants the person a temporary variance from the practices specified in the plan for the purpose of handling a specific problem. A determination or the granting of a variance by the Secretary under this paragraph shall not be counted as a violation for the purposes of paragraph (1)(A).”. (e) Information.— Section 1212 of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3812) (as amended by subsection (d) of this section) is further amended by adding at the end thereof the following new subsection: “(g) The Secretary, in providing assistance to an individual in the preparation or revision of a conservation plan under this section, shall provide such individual with information— “(1) concerning cost effective and applicable erosion control measures that may be available to such individual to meet the requirements of this section; and “(2) concerning crop flexibility, base adjustment, and conservation assistance options that may be available to such individual to meet the requirements of this section, including the provisions of titles X, XII, and XIII, of the Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990 (or the amendments made by such titles).”. (f) Noncommercial Production of Agricultural Commodities.— Section 1212 of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3812) (as amended by subsection (e) of this section) is further amended by adding at the end thereof the following new subsection: “(h) Section 1211 shall not apply to the noncommercial production of agricultural commodities on a farm if such production is limited104 STAT. 3572 to two acres or less and if the Secretary determines that such production is not intended to circumvent the conservation requirements otherwise applicable to lands under this subtitle.”.