terms and conditions

terms and conditions Sec. 103. (a) Nothwithstanding any other provision of law, the Secretary of Agriculture (hereinafter referred to as the “Secretary”) is authorized and directed to formulate and carry out an acreage reserve program for the 1956, 1957, 1968, and 1959 crops of wheat, cotton, corn produced in the commercial corn-producing area, peanuts, rice, flue-cured tobacco, burley tobacco, Maryland tobacco, dark air-cured tobacco, fire-cured tobacco, Virginia sun-cured tobacco, cigar binder tobacco types 51, 52, 54, and 55, Ohio cigar filler tobacco types 42, 43, and 44, respectively (hereinafter referred to as “the commodity”), under which producers shall be compensated for reducing their acreages of the commodity below their farm acreage allotments or their farm base acreages, whichever may be applicable. To be eligible for such compensation the producer (1) shall reduce his acreage of the commodity below his farm acreage allotment or farm base acreage, whichever may be applicable, within such limits as the Secretary may prescribe, (2) shall specifically designate the acreage so withdrawn from the production of such commodity (hereinafter referred to as the “reserve acreage”), and (3) shall not harvest any crop from, or graze, the reserve acreage unless the Secretary, after certification b the Governor of the State in which such acreage is situated of the need for grazing on such acreage, determines that it is necessary to permit grazing thereon in order to alleviate damage, hardship, or suffering caused by severe drought, flood, or other natural disaster, and consents to such grazing. Reserve acreage of a commodity may include acreage whether or not planted to the production of the 1956 crop of the commodity prior to the announcement of the acreage reserve program for the 1956 crop if the crop thereon, if any, shall be plowed under or otherwise physically incorporated into the soil, or clipped, mowed, or cut to prevent maturing so that the reduction in acreage of the commodity below the acreage allotment occurs not later than 21 days after the enactment of this title, or by such later date as may be fixed by the Secretary. The reserve acreage shall be in addition to any acreage devoted to the conservation reserve program authorized under subtitle B of this title. The acreage reserve program may include such terms and conditions, in addition to those specifically provided for herein, including provisions relating to control of noxious weeds on the reserve acreage, as the Secretary determines are desirable to effectuate the purposes of this title and to facilitate the practical administration of the acreage reserve program. Before any producer is entitled to receive any compensation for participating in the acreage reserve program, he must first enter into a contract with the Secretary, which contract, in addition to such other terms and conditions as may be prescribed by the Secretary, shall contain provisions’ by which such producer shall agree: (i) In the event that the Secretary determines that there has been a violation of the contract at any stage during the time such producer has control of the farm and that such violation is of such a substantial nature as to warrant termination of the contract, to forfeit all rights to payments or grants under the contract, and to refund to the United States all payments’ and grants received by him thereunder: Provided, however, That the provisions of Section 107 (d) shall apply to the termination of any contract hereunder. (ii) In the event that the Secretary determines that there has been a violation of the contract but that such violation is of such a nature as not to warrant termination of the contract, to accept such payment ad-70 Stat. 190justments, forfeit such benefits, and make such refunds to the United States of payments and benefits received by him, under the contract, as the Secretary may determine to be appropriate. (b) (1) There is hereby established for 1956 and for each year for which an acreage reserve program is in effect for corn a total base acreage of corn for the commercial corn-producing area proclaimed under section 327 of the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938, as amended, of fifty-one million acres. The total base acreage of corn for the commercial corn-producing area shall be apportioned by the Secretary among the counties in such area on the basis of the acreage of corn in such counties during the five calendar years immediately preceding the calendar year in which the apportionment is made (plus, in applicable years, the acreage diverted under previous agricultural adjustment, conservation, and soil bank programs), with adjustments for abnormal weather conditions, for trends in acreage during such period and for the promotion of soil-conservation pratices: Provided, That any downward adjustment for the promotion of soil-conservation practices shall not exceed 2 per centum of the total base acreage that would otherwise be apportioned to the county. The base acreage for the county shall be apportioned by the Secretary, through the local committees, among the farms within the county on the basis of past acreage of corn (planted and diverted), tillable acreage crop-rotation practices, types of soil, and topography. (2) This subsection (b) shall become inoperative after 1956 if in the referendum conducted pursuant to section 308 (b), producers do not vote in favor of the program provided in subsection (c) of such section.