[Federal Register: October 29, 2004 (Volume 69, Number 209)]
[Notices]
[Page 63134-63136]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr29oc04-40]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Farm Service Agency
Florida Citrus, Fruit, Vegetable, and Nursery Crop Disaster
Programs
AGENCY: Farm Service Agency, USDA.
ACTION: Notice of program implementation.
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SUMMARY: This notice announces the availability of disaster relief for
producers of citrus, selected tropical fruits, vegetables, fruits and
nursery crops located in Florida counties that have received a
Presidential disaster declaration for Hurricanes Charley, Frances, or
Jeanne in order to reestablish producers' purchasing power in the
following Presidentially-declared disaster counties, and any other such
counties subsequently declared by the President: Alachua, Baker, Bay,
Bradford, Brevard, Broward, Calhoun, Charlotte, Citrus, Clay, Collier,
Columbia, DeSoto, Dixie, Duval, Escambia, Flagler, Franklin, Gadsden,
Gilchrist, Glades, Gulf, Hamilton, Hardee, Hendry, Hernando, Highlands,
Hillsborough, Holmes, Indian River, Jackson, Jefferson, Lafayette,
Lake, Lee, Leon, Levy, Liberty, Madison, Manatee, Marion, Martin,
Miami-Dade, Monroe, Nassau, Okaloosa, Okeechobee, Orange, Osceola, Palm
Beach, Pasco, Pinellas, Polk, Putnam, Santa Rosa, Sarasota, Seminole,
St. Johns, St. Lucie, Sumter, Suwannee, Taylor, Union, Volusia,
Wakulla, Walton, and Washington.
EFFECTIVE DATE: October 28, 2004.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Eloise Taylor, Branch Chief,
Compliance Branch, Production, Emergencies, and Compliance Division,
Farm Service Agency (FSA), USDA, STOP 0517, 1400 Independence Avenue,
SW., Washington, DC 20250-0517; phone: (202) 720-9882; fax: (202) 720-
4941; e-mail: Eloise.Taylor@usda.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
Section 32 of the Agricultural Act of August 24, 1935, allows the
Secretary of Agriculture to make payments to restore producers'
purchasing power. This authority has been used in the past to provide
assistance to producers in response to unusual market conditions that
adversely affected producers. Similarly, the widespread and significant
destruction that resulted in Florida from Hurricanes Charley, Frances,
and Jeanne has adversely affected the purchasing power of certain
producers of agricultural commodities in those counties listed in the
summary paragraph of this notice. Accordingly, the Secretary of
Agriculture has determined that assistance is appropriate under this
authority, in these counties, for producers of crops of citrus,
nursery, vegetables, fruits and selected tropical fruits. Payment rates
under each program will be as announced by FSA.
Notice and Comment
Because of the need to provide timely assistance to disaster
affected producers, this program is effective immediately without
regard to the provisions of 5 U.S.C. 553 and the Statement of Policy of
the Secretary of Agriculture dated July 24, 1971 (36 FR 13804).
Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act
In accordance with 5 U.S.C. 808, because the payments provided
under this notice need to be made to affected producers as timely as
possible, it was determined that a delay for consultation, review, and
comment on this notice would be impracticable and contrary to the
public interest. Thus, this notice is effective immediately.
Paperwork Reduction Act
A request for emergency clearance of the information collections
associated with this notice was submitted to the Office of Management
and Budget (OMB) under 5 CFR 1320.13 (a)(2)(iii), and has been approved
by OMB and assigned OMB control number 0560-0247.
Environmental Review
Due to the weather-related disasters requiring the Agency to
provide immediate relief, sufficient time was not available to complete
an environmental review prior to implementing this program. Therefore,
an environmental assessment is being completed to consider the
potential impacts of this proposed action on the human environment in
accordance with the provisions of the National
[[Page 63135]]
Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), 42 U.S.C. 4321, et seq., the
regulations of the Council on Environmental Quality (40 CFR parts 1500-
1508), and FSA's regulations for compliance with NEPA at 7 CFR part
799. A copy of the draft environmental assessment will be available
after completion for review upon request.
II. Application Process
Producers wishing to receive benefits must submit an application to
FSA at their local FSA Service Center during the signup periods,
beginning as follows:
Florida Citrus Disaster Program--October 5, 2004.
Florida Nursery Disaster Program--October 20, 2004.
Florida Fruit and Vegetable Disaster Program--October 20, 2004.
Signup will end on such date as announced by FSA. Applications for
assistance are available at local FSA Service Centers.
III. Payment Limitation
(a) Consistent with the other crop disaster assistance programs of
FSA and CCC, the total amount of payments made under this notice that a
``person'' may receive can not exceed $80,000. As set forth in the
individual descriptions of each program, payment limitation rules in 7
CFR part 1400.301 will be used in applying this limit to specified
portions of the payment made under this notice. Producers who receive
payments for citrus, fruits, vegetables, tropical fruits, and/or
nursery crops may receive no more than a combined $80,000 for payments
subject to the payment limitation for any or all of the programs in
this notice. This payment limitation is separate and distinct from all
other Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) and FSA program payment
limitations.
(b) Adjusted gross income (AGI) rules in 7 CFR 1400.600 also apply
to persons receiving payments under this notice with respect to that
portion of the payment subject to the $80,000 limitation. Generally,
these regulations provide that payments will not be available for
persons whose adjusted gross income is $2.5 million or higher, unless
75 percent or more of their income is derived from farming, ranching,
and forestry. These provisions do not apply to payments that are not
subject to limitation. A portion of these payments are similar to the
payments made under the Emergency Conservation Program (ECP), which
pays for losses associated with weather damage that materially affects
productive capacity and is required to return the land to productive
agricultural uses. Accordingly, in determining whether or not to
provide this assistance, the portion of the payment associated with
clean-up and rehabilitation is not subject to AGI.
(c) The highly erodible land and wetland conservation rules in 7
CFR part 12 apply to this notice.
(d) The controlled substance rules in 7 CFR 718 apply.
IV. Florida Citrus Disaster Program
(a) Eligible producers are those producers who maintain groves of
fruit being trees of citrus types approved by the Risk Management
Agency (RMA), in its Florida Citrus Fruit Crop provisions, and as
otherwise announced by FSA. Producers that had not marketed citrus in
both 2003 and 2004 are not eligible for this assistance, except
producers of groves that will be of fruit-bearing age for 2005, but
were too immature to produce marketable fruit in 2003 or 2004, will be
eligible for such assistance. For the purposes of this notice, a grove
is defined as a contiguous acreage of the same citrus crop.
(b) Citrus producers will be reimbursed on a per-acre basis for
each eligible grove. Payment will be based on the severity of
destruction as determined by the paths of the storms and damage
estimates developed by FSA in cooperation with the Florida Department
of Agriculture. Estimates take into account levels of loss generally
correlating to the distance from the eyes of the hurricanes, the
average production loss, tree loss and rehabilitation and cleanup
costs. The levels of damage that will determine payment rates are as
follows:
Tier I--75 percent or greater crop loss and associated tree damage.
Tier II--50 to 74 percent crop loss and associated tree damage.
Tier III--35 to 49 percent crop loss and associated tree damage.
Tier IV--15 percent and greater associated tree damage only.
A copy of the map showing the loss tiers for citrus is available on
the FSA Disaster Assistance Web site at http://disaster.fsa.usda.gov
and at FSA Service Centers. Citrus producers who suffered citrus crop
production losses and associated fruit-bearing tree damage, including
related cleanup and rehabilitation costs, must provide to FSA a
certified statement on an FSA approved form of the level of
destruction, the number of acres in the disaster-affected grove, and
the geographic location of the losses.
(c) If the actual level of loss is greater than the tier associated
with the location band for the grove, based upon documentation
submitted by the producer to FSA, FSA may assign the grove to a lower
tier which represents a greater level of loss and a higher payment
rate.
(d) If the actual level of loss is less than the tier associated
with the location band for the grove, the producer shall certify to the
lower loss level on the application and a lower payment rate will be
used by FSA based upon the tier rate associated with the lower loss
level.
(e) Payments will be calculated by multiplying the number of net
acres in each tier times the applicable payment rate, as determined by
FSA, times the producer's share of the loss. The number of net acres is
determined by subtracting drainage ditches, canals, and other such land
uses from the citrus acres planted in the grove.
(f) The percentages of the payment for citrus crops that are
subject to the payment limitation and AGI provisions are:
Tier I--55 percent
Tier II--60 percent
Tier III--64 percent
Tier IV--0 percent
(g) The percentages of the payment for citrus crops that are not
subject to the payment limitation and AGI provisions are:
Tier I--45 percent
Tier II--40 percent
Tier III--36 percent
Tier IV--100 percent
V. Florida Nursery Disaster Program
(a) Commercial ornamental nursery and fernery producers are
eligible for assistance for inventory losses for each nursery or
fernery operation and clean-up costs for nursery operations. For a
nursery to be considered a commercial nursery, it must be certified by
the State of Florida. Eligible producers include producers of the
following types of nursery stock and such stock as announced by FSA:
Deciduous shrubs, broadleaf evergreens, coniferous
evergreens, shade and flowering trees.
Stock for use as propagation in a commercial ornamental
nursery operation.
Fruit or nut seedlings grown for sale as seed stock for
commercial orchard operations growing fruit or nuts.
(b) Eligible nursery inventory does not include:
Edible varieties.
Plants produced for reforestation purposes or for the
purpose of producing a crop for which RMA does not provide insurance,
or for which CCC does not provide assistance under the Non-insured
Assistance Program (NAP).
[[Page 63136]]
(c) Losses will be determined on an individual-nursery basis.
Production loss from one nursery will not be offset by production from
another nursery operated by the same applicant. Payments are calculated
by multiplying the difference between beginning and ending inventory
value times 25 percent times the producer's share of the loss. The
payment for production loss is subject to the $80,000 payment
limitation and AGI provisions.
(d) Producers are also eligible for a payment of $250 per acre for
debris removal and associated costs from hurricane damage if they can
document that these costs were equal to or greater than $250 per acre.
None of the payment for cleanup is subject to the payment limitation
and AGI provisions. Producers must provide the inventory value before
the hurricane and the inventory value after the hurricane. The value of
the inventory is the producer's wholesale price list, less the maximum
customer discount they provide, not to exceed the prices in RMA's
``Eligible Plant List and Price Schedule.''
VI. Florida Vegetable, Fruit and Tropical Fruit Disaster Program
(a) Producers of vegetables, fruits and selected tropical fruit are
eligible for assistance. Payments will be made on a per-acre basis, and
are based on the type of planting application or method installed or
completed on the date and time the hurricanes occurred in that area.
(b) Plasticulture refers to production practices where the soil has
been covered with plastic mulch, fumigated, fertilized, and with an
irrigation system installed. For plasticulture losses, producers must
have a loss that is 50 percent or greater of plastic or plant
population, as applicable. Producers must also document that the
necessary materials and procedures were followed to produce vegetables
using any of the practices. Payments are calculated by multiplying the
payment rate for each practice times the affected acres in the practice
times the producer's share of that crop. A portion of the payment that
is associated with production losses is subject to the $80,000 payment
limitation and AGI provisions. The payment associated with debris
removal and associated costs from hurricane damage are not subject to
payment limitation or AGI. Plasticulture includes the following
practices:
(1) Practice I--the producer laid down new plastic, fumigated the
soil, put in transplants and had a loss or removal of more than 50
percent of the plastic per acre requiring the replacement of preplant
inputs and plastic.
(2) Practice II--the producer laid down new plastic, fumigated the
soil, but did not put in transplants and had a loss or removal of more
than 50 percent of the plastic per acre requiring the replacement of
preplant inputs and plastic; or the producer laid down new plastic with
50 percent or more loss in plant population and did not re-plant due to
cultural or weather related limitations.
(3) Practice III--the producer double-cropped with respect to the
plastic and had a loss of greater than 50 percent of the plastic per
acre; or the producer laid down new plastic with 50 percent or more
loss in plant population and replanted.
(c) Practice IV--The producer who plants conventional row crop
fruits and vegetables must suffer a loss of 50 percent or more of the
plant population. Payments are calculated by multiplying the number of
acres affected by the loss times the payment rate times the producer's
share of the crop. All payments are subject to the total payment
limitation and AGI provisions.
(d) Practice V--For tropical fruit producers, only those producers
in Lee County or in Bands 1 or 2 designated under the Florida Citrus
Program are eligible. Producers must have suffered a loss of 50 percent
or more relative to their expected production, as defined in 7 CFR part
1480.3. Payments are calculated by multiplying the number of acres
affected by the payment rate times the producer's share of the crop.
The total payment is subject to the payment limitation and AGI
provisions.
VII. Payment Conditions for All Programs
(a) Actual losses or costs for any program must equal or exceed the
payment amount received for that program.
(b) Payment rates will be 5 percent less for producers who did not
obtain Federal Crop Insurance, which is available from the Risk
Management Agency, or on coverage from CCC under NAP.
(c) Eligible producers who elected not to purchase insurance on an
insurable crop, or NAP coverage on an uninsurable crop for which
benefits are received under any of these programs, must purchase for
the next available coverage period:
(1) Crop insurance at least at the catastrophic level on that crop,
although producers who are required to purchase a citrus insurance
policy may elect to purchase a fruit or tree policy;
(2) NAP coverage for the next available coverage period by paying
the administrative fee and filing all required paperwork by the
applicable State filing deadline.
(d) If a producer who is required to purchase crop insurance or NAP
for the applicable year fails to do so, the producer must refund the
disaster payment.
VIII. Appeals
Any person who is dissatisfied with a determination made with
respect to these programs may make a request for reconsideration or
appeal of such determination in accordance with the regulations set
forth in 7 CFR parts 11 and 780.
Signed in Washington, DC, on October 25, 2004.
James R. Little,
Administrator, Farm Service Agency.
[FR Doc. 04-24290 Filed 10-28-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-05-P