Pub. L. 89-321, tit. III, sec. 302

Sec. 302. Section 16 of the Soil Conservation and Domestic Allotment Act, as amended, is amended by adding the following new subsection: “(i) Notwithstanding any other provision of law— “(1) For the 1966 through 1969 crops of feed grains, if the Secretary determines that the total supply of feed grains will, in the absence of an acreage diversion program, likely be excessive, taking into account the need for an adequate carryover to maintain reasonable and stable supplies and prices of feed grains and to meet any national emergency, be may formulate and carry out an acreage diversion program for feed grains, without regard to provisions which would be applicable to the regular agricultural conservation program, under which, subject to such terms and conditions as the Secretary determines, conservation payments shall be made to producers who divert acreage from the production of feed grains to an approved conservation use and increase their average acreage of cropland devoted in 1959 and 1960 to designated soil-conserving crops or practices including summer fallow and idle land by an equal amount. Payments shall be made at such rate or rates as the Secretary determines will provide producers with a fair and reasonable return for the acreage diverted, but not in excess of 50 per centum of the estimated basic county support rate, including the lowest rate of payment-in-kind, on the normal production of the acreage diverted from the commodity on the, farm based on the farm projected yield per acre. Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions, the Secretary may permit all or tiny part of such diverted acreage to be devoted to the production of guar, sesame, safflower, sunflower, castor beans, mustard seed, crambe, plantago ovato, and flaxseed, if he determines that such production of the commodity is needed to provide an adequate supply, is not likely to increase the cost of the price support program, and will not adversely affect farm income subject to the condition that payment with respect to diverted acreage devoted to any such crop shall be at a rate determined by the Secretary to be fair and reasonable, taking into consideration the use of such acreage for the production of such crops, but in no event shall the payment exceed one-half the rate which otherwise would be applicable if such acreage were devoted to conservation uses. The term ‘feed grains’ means corn, grain sorghums, and, if designated by the Secretary, barley, and if for any crop the producer so requests for purposes of having acreage devoted to the production of wheat considered as devoted to the production of feed grains, pursuant to the provisions of section 328 of the Food and Agriculture Act of 1962, the term ‘feed grains’ shall include oats and rye and barley if not designated by the Secretary as provided above: Provided, That acreages of corn, grain sorghums, awl, if designated by the Secretary, barley, shall not be planted in lieu of acreages of oats and rye and barley if not designated by the Secretary as provided above: Provided further, That the acreage devoted to the production of 79 Stat. 1191wheat shall not be considered as an acreage of feed grains for purposes of establishing the feed grain base acreage for the farm for subsequent crops. Such feed grain diversion program shall require the producer to take such measures as the Secretary may deem appropriate to keep such diverted acreage free from erosion, insects, weeds, and rodents. The acreage eligible for participation in the program shall be such acreage (not to exceed 50 per centum of the average acreage on the farm devoted to feed grains in the crop years 1959 and 1960 or twenty-five acres, whichever is greater) as the Secretary determines necessary to achieve the acreage reduction goal for the crop. Payments shall be made in kind. The acreage of wheat produced on the farm during the crop years 1959, 1960, and 1961, pursuant to the exemption provided in section 335(f) of the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938, as amended, prior to its repeal by the Food and Agriculture Act of 1962, in excess of the small farm base acreage for wheat established under section 335 of the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938, as amended, may be taken into consideration in establishing the feed grain base acreage for the farm. The Secretary may make such adjustments in acreage as he determines necessary to correct for abnormal factors affecting production, and to give due consideration to tillable acreage, crop-rotation practices, types of soil, soil and water conservation measures, and topography. Notwithstanding any other provision of this subsection (i) (1), the Secretary may, upon unanimous request of the State committee established pursuant to section 8(b) of the Soil Conservation and Domestic Allotment Act, as amended, adjust the feed grain bases for farms within any State or county to the extent he determines such adjustment to be necessary in order to establish fair and equitable feed grain bases for farms within such State or county. The Secretary may make not to exceed 50 per centum of any payments to producers in advance of determination of performance. Notwithstanding any other provision of this subsection, barley shall not be included in the program for a producer of malting barley exempted pursuant to section 105(e) of the Agricultural Act of 1949, who participates only with respect to corn and grain sorghums and does not knowingly devote an acreage on the farm to barley in excess of 110 per centum of the average acreage devoted on the farm to barley in 1959 and 1960. “(2) Notwithstanding any other provision of this subsection, not to exceed 1 per centum of the estimated total feed grain bases for all farms in a State for any year may be reserved from the feed grain bases established for farms in the State for apportionment to farms on which there were no acreages devoted to feed grains in the crop years 1959 and 1960 on the basis of the following factors: Suitability of the land for the production of feed grains, the past experience of the farm operator in the production of feed grains, the extent to which the farm operator is dependent on income from farming for his livelihood, the production of feed grains on other farms owned, operated, or controlled by the farm operator, and such other factors as the Secretary determines should be considered for the purpose, of establishing fair and equitable feed grain bases. An acreage equal to the feed grain base so established for each farm shall be deemed to have been devoted to feed grains on the farm in each of the crop years 1959 and 1960 for purposes of this subsection except that producers on such farm shall not be eligible for conservation payments for the first year for which the feed grain base is established. 79 Stat. 1192 “(3) There are hereby authorized to be appropriated such amounts as may be necessary to enable the Secretary to carry out. this section 16 (i). “(4) The Secretary shall provide by regulations for the sharing of payments under this subsection among producers on the farm on a fair and equitable basis and in keeping with existing contracts. “(5) Payments in kind shall be made through the issuance of negotiable certificates which the Commodity Credit Corporation shall redeem for feed grains in accordance with regulations prescribed by the Secretary and, notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Commodity Credit Corporation shall, in accordance with regulations prescribed by the Secretary, assist the producer in the marketing of such certificates. Feed grains with which Commodity Credit Corporation redeems certificates pursuant to this paragraph shall be valued at not less than the current support price made available through loans and purchases, plus reasonable carrying charges. “(6) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Secretary may, by mutual agreement with the producer, terminate or modify any agreement previously entered into pursuant to this subsection if he determines such action necessary because of an emergency created by drought or other disaster, or in order to prevent or alleviate a shortage in the supply of feed grains.”