[Federal Register: December 3, 2002 (Volume 67, Number 232)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Page 71797-71798]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr03de02-1]
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Rules and Regulations
Federal Register
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Farm Service Agency
7 CFR Part 718
RIN: 0560-AG55
Skip Row and Strip Crops
AGENCY: Farm Service Agency, USDA.
ACTION: Final rule.
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SUMMARY: The Farm Service Agency (FSA) is amending its regulations to
revise the provisions governing how densely a producer's acreage must
be planted in order for the full acre to be considered planted for
program purposes in the Non-insured Crop Disaster Assistance Program
and other programs. Under the revised rule the amount of a field
considered planted will be limited to certain specified widths beyond
the actual planted rows, which will allow for a more uniform
determination of acreage.
EFFECTIVE DATE: November 29, 2002.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Daniel McGlynn (202) 720-3463.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Executive Order 12866
This final rule is issued in conformance with Executive Order 12866
and has been determined to be significant and has been reviewed by the
Office of Management and Budget (OMB).
Regulatory Flexibility Act
It has been determined that the Regulatory Flexibility Act is not
applicable to this final rule because FSA is not required by 5 U.S.C.
553 or any other provisions of the law to publish a notice of final
rule making regarding the subject matter of this rule.
Environmental Evaluation
It has been determined by an environmental evaluation that this
action will have no significant impact on the quality of the human
environment. Therefore, neither an Environmental Assessment nor an
Environmental Impact Statement is needed.
Executive Order 12988
This rule has been reviewed in accordance with Executive Order
12988. The provisions of this final rule preempt State laws to the
extent such laws are inconsistent with the provisions of this rule.
Executive Order 12372
This activity is not subject to the provisions of Executive Order
12372, which requires intergovernmental consultation with State and
local officials. See the notice related to 7 CFR part 3015, subpart V,
published at 48 FR 29115 (June 24, 1983).
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995
This rule contains no Federal mandates under the provisions of
Title II of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (UMRA) for State,
local, and tribal governments or the private sector. Thus, this rule is
not subject to the requirements of sections 202 and 205 of UMRA.
Paperwork Reduction Act
This rule does not contain any new information collection
requirements.
Executive Order 12612
It has been determined that this rule does not have sufficient
Federalism implications to warrant the preparation of a Federalism
Assessment. The provisions contained in this rule will not have a
substantial direct effect on States or their political subdivisions, or
on the distribution of power and responsibilities among the various
levels of Government.
Discussion of the Final Rule
For purposes of the operation of several programs, including the
Non-Insured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP), operated under
rules set out at 7 CFR part 1437, it is necessary and important to
determine how much of a field can be considered planted to a particular
crop, and that determination can raise issues of how densely the field
must be planted in order for the full acreage to be considered planted.
Such determinations for NAP and other programs administered by FSA and
the Commodity Credit Corporation are made using standards that are set
out in regulations found at 7 CFR part 718. In particular, 7 CFR
718.107 addresses this issue. For example, persons filing for NAP
benefits will indicate that they had a loss on a certain number of
acres. That loss, in numbers of acres, will be multiplied by a yield
per acre to arrive at a gross estimate of the amount of loss. This
means, accordingly, that the number of acres considered committed to
the crop can be critical in determining the amount of payments that the
farmers can receive. In recent years, several situations have arisen in
which farmers have reported unusual planting patterns that raise a
question of whether the pattern reflected a desire to increase benefits
rather than simply a desire to farm in the most productive manner
possible for the market for the crop. These situations have prompted a
review of the rule. That review has indicated that an overhaul of the
measurement regulation is in order. Such an overhaul is undertaken in
this rule, which provides that acreage planted to a crop will only be
considered to be the rows of the crop itself and a set amount (as
defined in the rule) on either side of the actual planted rows
(including those rows which might be the last rows before a row is
skipped and the first row after the skip). In the past, under the terms
of the pre-existing regulation, it could occur that the full area of
the skip might be considered to be planted even though the space was
far greater than that which would normally occur between rows. It is
believed that this revised rule will be fairer and will give a more
accurate measure of the amount of the field that should be considered
planted to a crop, assuming an intended full production of the crop.
The rules in 7 CFR part 718 were revised in response to the
Agricultural Market Transition Act of 1996, Pub. L. No. 104-127, which,
among other things, in section 196, re-instituted NAP within the CCC as
it is now constituted. Originally, NAP was administered by the Federal
Crop Insurance Program and the Risk Management Agency. After the 1996
Act, new rules were finalized for NAP (61 FR 69005, December 31, 1996)
and also for the generic regulations in 7
[[Page 71798]]
CFR part 718 (61 FR 37552, July 18, 1996), which cover a number of
issues common to a number of programs, including NAP. Section 161 of
the 1996 Act provides for an exemption from the normal provisions of
rule-making for implementing decisions made pursuant to that Act, and
this exemption applies in this instance as well because this rule is
part of the overall implementation of the 1996 Act and the
administration of NAP. The rule has been designed to accommodate normal
planting practices and to be flexible where needed to handle the
special needs of special crops or special conditions in special areas.
Also, to provide for a transition from the old rules that would not
occur in the middle of a crop year, the amended regulation in Sec.
718.107 provides that the new provisions will apply only to the 2003
and subsequent crops.
List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 718
Determination of Acreage and Compliance, Reconstitution of Farms,
Allotments, Quotas, and Acreages.
For reasons set out in the preamble, 7 CFR part 718 is revised as
follows:
PART 718--PROVISIONS APPLICABLE TO MULTIPLE PROGRAMS
1. The authority citation for 7 CFR part 718 continues to read as
follows:
Authority: 7 U.S.C. 1373, 1374, 7201 et seq.; 15 U.S.C. 714b and
714c; and 21 U.S.C. 889.
2. Revise Sec. 718.107 to read as follows:
Sec. 718.107 Measuring acreage including skip row acreage.
(a) When one crop is alternating with another crop, whether or not
both crops have the same growing season, only the acreage that is
actually planted to the crop being measured will be considered to be
acreage devoted to the measured crop.
(b) Subject to the provisions of this paragraph and section,
whether planted in a skip row pattern or without a pattern of skipped
rows, the entire acreage of the field or subdivision may be considered
as devoted to the crop only where the distance between the rows, for
all rows, is 40 inches or less. If there is a skip that creates idle
land wider than 40 inches, or if the distance between any rows is more
than 40 inches, then the area planted to the crop shall be considered
to be that area which would represent the smaller of: a 40-inch width
between rows, or the normal row spacing in the field for all other rows
in the field--those that are not more than 40 inches apart. The
allowance for individual rows would be made based on the smaller of:
actual spacing between those rows, or the normal spacing in the field.
For example, if the crop is planted in single wide rows that are 48
inches apart, only 20 inches to either side of each row (for a total of
40 inches between the two rows) could, at a maximum, be considered as
devoted as the crop and normal spacing in the field would control. Half
the normal distance between rows will also be allowed beyond the
outside planted rows not to exceed 20 inches and will reflect normal
spacing in the field.
(c) In making calculations under this section, further reductions
may be made in the acreage considered planted to the extent it is
determined that the acreage is more sparsely planted than would be
normal using reasonable and customary full production planting
techniques.
(d) The Deputy Administrator for Farm Programs has the
discretionary authority to allow row allowances other than those
specified in this section in those instances in which crops are
normally planted with spacings greater or less than 40 inches, such as
in the case of tobacco, or where other circumstances are presented
which the Deputy Administrator finds justifies that allowance.
(e) Paragraphs (a) through (d) of this section shall apply with
respect to the 2003 and subsequent crops. For preceding crops, the
rules in effect on January 1, 2002, shall apply.
Signed at Washington, DC, on November 27, 2002.
James R. Little,
Administrator, Farm Service Agency.
[FR Doc. 02-30702 Filed 11-29-02; 1:54 pm]
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