Pub. L. 91-524, tit. VI, sec. 602

Sec. 602. Effective beginning with the 1971 crop of upland cotton, section 103 of the Agricultural Act of 1949, as amended, is amended by adding at the end thereof a new subsection (e) reading as follows: 84 Stat. 1375 “(e) (1) The Secretary shall upon presentation of warehouse receipts reflecting accrued storage charges of not more than 60 days make available for the 1971, 1972, and 1973 crops of upland cotton to cooperators nonrecourse loans for a term of ten months from the first day of the month in which the loan is made at such level as will reflect for Middling one-inch upland cotton (micronaire 3.5 through 4.9) at average location in the United States 90 per centum of the acreage world price for such cotton for the two-year period ending July 31 in the year in which the loan level is announced, except that to prevent the establishment of such a loan level as would adversely affect the competitive position of United States upland cotton, following one or more years of excessively high prices, the Secretary shall make such adjustments as are necessary to keep United States upland cotton competitive and to retain an adequate snare of the world market for such cotton. The average world price for such cotton for such preceding two-year period shall be determined by the Secretary annually pursuant to a published regulation which shall specify the procedures and the factors be to used by the Secretary in making the world price determination. The loan level for any crop of upland cotton shall be determined and announced not later than November 1 of the calendar year preceding the marketing year for which such loan is to be effective. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if the carryover of upland cotton as of the beginning of the marketing year for the 1972 or 1973 crop exceeds 7.2 million bales, producers on any farm harvesting cotton of such crop from an acreage in excess of the base acreage allotment for such farm shall be entitled to loans and purchases only on an amount of the cotton of such crop produced on such farm determined by multiplying the yield used in computing payments for such farm by the base acreage allotment for such farm. “(2) In addition, the Secretary shall make available to cooperators payments on the 1971, 1972, and 1973 crops of upland cotton. The payments shall be at such rate per pound as, together with the national average market price for Middling one-inch upland cotton (micronaire 3.5 through 4.9) in the designated spot markets during the first five months of the marketing year for the crop, the Secretary’ determines will be equal to the greater of (i) 35 cents, or (ii) 65 per centum of the parity price for upland cotton as of the beginning of the marketing year, except that the rate of payment so determined for the 1972 crop and the 1973 crop, respectively, shall be adjusted by multiplying the amount thereof by the ratio of (i) the national base acreage allotment for the 1971 crop to (ii) the national base acreage allotment for the crop for which the rate is being determined: Provided, That the payment rate with respect, to any producer who (i) is on a small farm (that is, a farm on which the base acreage allotment is ten acres or less, or on which the yield used in making payments times the farm base acreage allotment is five thousand pounds or less, and for which the base acreage allotment has not been reduced under section 350 (f)), (ii) resides on such farm, and (iii) derives his principal income from cotton produced on such farm, shall be increased by 30 per centum; but, notwithstanding paragraph (3), such increase shall be made only with respect to his share of cotton actually harvested on such farm within the quantity specified in paragraph (3). The Secretary shall make a preliminary payment to producers, as soon as practicable after July 1 of the year in which the crop is harvested, at a rate equal to 15 cents per pound, and the payment so made shall not be reduced if the rate as finally determined is less than the rate of the preliminary payment. “(3) Such payments shall be made available for a farm on the quantity of upland cotton determined by multiplying the acreage planted84 Stat. 1376 within the farm base acreage allotment for the farm for the crop by the average yield established for the farm: Provided, That payments shall be made on any farm planting not less than 90 per cent um of the farm base acreage allotment on the basis of the entire amount of such allotment. For purposes of this paragraph, an acreage on the farm which the Secretary determines was not planted to cotton because of drought, flood, other natural disaster, or a condition beyond the control of the producer shall be considered to bean acreage planted to cotton. The average yield for the farm for any year shall be determined on the basis of the actual yields per harvested acre for the three preceding years, except that the 1970 farm projected yield shall be substituted in lieu of the actual yields for the years 1968 and 1969: Provided, That the actual yields shall be adjusted by the Secretary for abnormal yields in any year caused by drought, flood, or other natural disaster: Provided further, That the average yield established for the farm for any year shall not be less than the yield used in making payments for the preceding year if the total cotton production on the farm in such preceding year is not less than the yield used in making payments for the farm for such preceding year times the farm base acreage allotment for such preceding year (for the 1970 crop, the farm domestic allotment). “(4) (A) The Secretary shall provide for a set aside of cropland if he determines that the total supply of agricultural commodities will, in the absence of such a set-aside, likely be excessive taking into account the need for an adequate carryover to maintain reasonable and stable supplies and prices and to meet a national emergency. If a set-aside of cropland is in effect, under this paragraph (4), then as a condition of eligibility for loans and payments on upland cotton the producers on a farm must set aside and devote to approved conservation uses an acreage of cropland equal to (i) such percentage of the farm base acreage allotment for the farm as may be specified by the Secretary (not to exceed 28 per centum of the farm base acreage allotment), plus (ii) the acreage of cropland on the farm devoted in preceding years to soil conserving uses, as determined by the Secretary. If the Secretary determines prior to the planting season for such crop that the carryover of upland cotton as of the beginning of the marketing year for the 1972 or 1973 crop will exceed 7.2 million bales, the Secretary is authorized for such crop to limit the acreage planted to upland cotton on the farm in excess of the farm base acreage allotment to such percentage of the farm base acreage allotment as he determines necessary to reduce the total supply to a reasonable level. Grazing shall not be permitted during any of the five principal months of the normal growing season as determined by the county committee established pursuant to section 8(b) of the Soil Conservation and Domestic Allotment Act, as amended, and subject to this limitation (1) the Secretary shall permit producers to plant and graze on the set-aside acreage sweet sorghum, and (2) the Secretary may permit, subject to such terms and conditions as he may prescribe, all or any of the set-aside acreage to be devoted to grazing or the production of guar, sesame, safflower, sunflower, castor Leans, mustard seed, crambe, plantago ovato, flaxseed, or other commodity, if he determines that such production 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. “(B) To assist in adjusting the acreage of commodities to desirable goals, the Secretary may make land diversion payments, in addition to the payments authorized in subsection (e)(2), to producers on a farm who, to the extent prescribed by the Secretary, devote to approved conservation uses an acreage of cropland on the farm in addition to84 Stat. 1377 that required to be so devoted under subsection (e)(4)(A). The land diversion payments for a farm shall be at such rate or rates as the Secretary determines to be fair and reasonable taking into consideration the diversion undertaken by the producers and the productivity of the acreage diverted. The Secretary shall limit the total acreage to be diverted under agreements in any county or local community so as not to adversely affect the economy of the county or local community. “(5) The upland cotton program formulated under this section shall require the producer to take such measures as the Secretary may deem appropriate to protect the set-aside acreage and the additional diverted acreage from erosion, insects, weeds, anti rodents. Such acreage may be devoted to wildlife food plots or wildlife habitat in conformity with standards established by the Secretary in consultation with wildlife agencies. The Secretary may provide for an additional payment on such acreage in an amount determined by the Secretary to be appropriate in relation to the benefit to the general public if the producer agrees to permit, without other compensation, access to all or such portion of the farm as the Secretary may prescribe by the general public, for hunting, trapping, fishing, and hiking, subject to applicable State and Federal regulations. “(6) If the operator of the farm desires to participate in the program formulated under this section, he shall file his agreement to do so no later than such date as the Secretary may prescribe. Loans and purchases on upland cotton and payments under this section shall be made available to the producers on such farm only if producers set aside and devote to approved soil conserving uses an acreage on the farm equal to the number of acres which the operator agrees to set aside and devote to approved soil conserving uses, and the agreement shall so provide. The Secretary may, by mutual agreement with the producer, terminate or modify any such agreement, entered into pursuant to this subsection (e)(6) if he determines such action necessary because of an emergency created by drought or other disaster, or in order to alleviate a shortage in the supply of agricultural commodities. “(7) The Secretary shall provide adequate safeguards to protect the interests of tenants and sharecroppers, including provision for sharing on a fair and equitable basis, in payments under this section. “(8) In any case in which the failure of a producer to comply fully with the terms and conditions of the program formulated under this section precludes the making of loans, purchases, and payments, the Secretary may, nevertheless, make such loans, purchases, and payments in such amounts as he determines to be equitable in relation to the seriousness of the default. “(9) The Secretary is authorized to issue such regulations as he determines necessary to carry out the provisions of this Title. “(10) The Secretary shall carry out the program authorized by this section through the Commodity Credit Corporation. “(11) The provisions of subsection 8(g) of the Soil Conservation and Domestic Allotment Act, as amended (relating to assignment of payments), shall apply to payments under this subsection.”