[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 7, Volume 10]
[Revised as of January 1, 2007]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 7CFR1410.2]

[Page 369-372]
 
                          TITLE 7--AGRICULTURE
 
  CHAPTER XIV--COMMODITY CREDIT CORPORATION, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
 
PART 1410_CONSERVATION RESERVE PROGRAM--Table of Contents
 
Sec.  1410.2  Definitions.

    (a) The definitions in part 718 of this chapter shall be applicable 
to this part and all documents issued in accordance with this part, 
except as otherwise provided in this section.
    (b) The following definitions shall be applicable to this part:
    Agricultural commodity means any crop planted and produced:
    (1) By annual tilling of the soil;
    (2) On an annual basis by one-trip planters; or
    (3) Sugarcane planted or produced in a State.
    Annual rental payment means, unless the context indicates otherwise, 
the annual payment specified in the CRP contract that, subject to the 
availability of funds, is made to a participant to compensate a 
participant for placing eligible land in the CRP.
    Conservation district means a political subdivision of a State, 
Indian Tribe, or territory, organized pursuant to the State or 
territorial soil conservation district law, or Tribal law. The 
subdivision may be a conservation district, soil conservation district, 
soil and water conservation district, resource conservation district, 
natural resource district, land conservation committee, or similar 
legally constituted body.
    Conservation plan means a record of the participant's decisions and 
supporting information for treatment of a unit of land or water, and 
includes a schedule of operations, activities, and estimated 
expenditures needed to solve identified natural resource problems by 
devoting eligible land to permanent vegetative cover, trees, water, or 
other comparable measures.
    Conservation priority area means an area designated with actual and 
adverse water quality, wildlife habitat, air quality, or other natural 
resource impacts related to agricultural production activities or to 
assist agricultural producers to comply with Federal and State 
environmental laws or to meet other conservation needs, such as for air 
quality, as determined by the Deputy Administrator.
    Conserving use means a use of land with any rotation requirements as 
may be specified by the Deputy Administrator: for alfalfa and other 
multi-year grasses and legumes planted during 1996 through 2001; as 
summer fallow during 1996 through 2001; and in which the land was 
previously enrolled in the program (for which the contract expired 
during the period 1996 through

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2001) and where the grass cover required by the CRP contract continues 
to be maintained as though still enrolled. Where the land use for a year 
qualifies as a ``conserving use'' under this definition, then, the land 
for that year shall, for purposes of eligibility under Sec.  
1410.6(a)(1) be considered to have been planted to an ``agricultural 
commodity.''
    Considered planted means: land devoted to a conserving use or land 
enrolled in the WBP during the crop year or during any of the 2 years 
preceding the crop year if the contract expired or will expire during 
calendar year 2000, 2001, or 2002; cropland enrolled in CRP; or land for 
which the producer received insurance indemnity payment for prevented 
planting.
    Contour grass strip means a vegetation area that follows the contour 
of the land that complies with the FOTG and a conservation plan 
developed under this part.
    Contract period means the term of the contract which is not less 
than 10, nor more than 15 years.
    Cost-share payment means the payment made by CCC to assist program 
participants in establishing the practices required in a contract.
    Cropland means land defined as cropland in part 718 of this title, 
except for land in terraces that are no longer capable of being cropped.
    Cropped wetlands means farmed wetlands and wetlands farmed under 
natural conditions.
    Deputy Administrator means the Deputy Administrator for Farm 
Programs, FSA, the CRP Program Manager, or a designee.
    Erodibility Index (EI) is, as prescribed by CCC, used to determine 
the inherent erodibility (water or wind) of a soil.
    Farmed wetlands means land defined as farmed wetlands in part 12 of 
this title.
    Federally-owned land means land owned by the Federal Government or 
any department, instrumentality, bureau, or agency thereof, or any 
corporation whose stock is wholly owned by the Federal Government.
    Field means a part of a farm that is separated from the balance of 
the farm by permanent boundaries such as fences, roads, permanent 
waterways, woodlands, other similar features, or crop-lines, as 
determined by CCC.
    Field Office Technical Guide (FOTG) means the official USDA 
guidelines, criteria, and standards for planning and applying 
conservation treatments and conservation management systems. It contains 
detailed information on the conservation of soil, water, air, plant, 
animal resources, and cultural resources applicable to the local area 
for which it is prepared.
    Field windbreak, shelterbelt, and/or living snowfence mean a 
vegetative barrier with a linear configuration composed of trees, 
shrubs, or other vegetation, as determined by CCC, that are designated 
as such in a conservation plan and that are planted for the purpose of 
reducing wind erosion, controlling snow, improving wildlife habitat, or 
conserving energy.
    Filter strip means a strip or area of vegetation adjacent to a body 
of water the purpose of which is to remove nutrients, sediment, organic 
matter, pesticides, and other pollutants from surface runoff and 
subsurface flow by deposition, absorption, plant uptake, and other 
processes, thereby reducing pollution and protecting surface water and 
subsurface water quality and of a width determined appropriate for the 
purpose by the Deputy Administrator.
    Highly Erodible Land (HEL) means land determined to have an EI equal 
to or greater than 8 on the acreage offered.
    Infeasible to farm means an area that is too small or isolated to be 
economically farmed, as determined by the Deputy Administrator.
    Landlord means a person who rents or leases acreage to another 
person.
    Local FSA office means the FSA office serving the area in which the 
FSA records are located for the farm or ranch.
    Merchantable timber means timber grown for commercial purposes on 
private non-industrial forest land on which the average tree has a trunk 
diameter of at least 6 inches measured at a point no less than 4.5 feet 
above the ground.
    Offer means, unless the context indicates otherwise, if required by 
CCC, the per-acre rental payment requested by the owner or operator in 
such owner's

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or operator's request to participate in the CRP.
    Offeror means an eligible person as determined by CCC who submits an 
offer of eligible acreage for enrollment into the CRP to enter into a 
CRP contract.
    Operator means a person who is in general control of the farming 
operation on the farm, as determined by CCC.
    Payment period means the 10- to 15-year contract period for which 
the participant receives an annual rental payment.
    Perennial crop means a crop that is produced from the same root 
structure for two or more years, as determined by CCC.
    Permanent vegetative cover means perennial stands of approved 
combinations of certain grasses, legumes, forbs, shrubs and trees with a 
life span of 10 or more years.
    Permanent wildlife habitat means a vegetative cover with the 
specific purpose of providing habitat, food, or cover for wildlife and 
protecting other environmental concerns for the life of the contract.
    Practice means a conservation, wildlife habitat, or water quality 
measure with appropriate operations and management as agreed to in the 
conservation plan to accomplish the desired program objectives according 
to CRP and FOTG standards and specifications as a part of a conservation 
management system.
    Present value means the value of a stream of future payments 
discounted by 5 percent in accordance with Office of Management and 
Budget Circular A-94 (revised January 2006), Discount Rates to Be Used 
in Evaluating Time-Distributed Costs and Benefits.
    Private non-industrial forest land means, for purposes of Sec.  
1410.12, lands with existing tree cover that are owned by a private non-
industrial forest landowner and which were damaged by hurricanes 
occurring in calendar year 2005.
    Private non-industrial forest landowner means, for purposes of Sec.  
1410.12, an individual, group, association, corporation, Indian Tribe, 
other legal private entity, or State School Trust, owning non-industrial 
private forest land or who receives concurrence from the landowner for 
making the claim in lieu of the owner, and for practice implementation 
and who holds a lease on the land for a minimum of 10 years. 
Corporations whose stocks are publicly traded or owners or lessees 
principally engaged in the primary processing of raw wood products are 
excluded from this definition. An owner of land leased to a lessee shall 
also be excluded who should be excluded under the previous sentence.
    Riparian buffer means a strip or area of vegetation adjacent to a 
river or stream of sufficient width as determined by the Deputy 
Administrator to remove nutrients, sediment, organic matter, pesticides, 
and other pollutants from surface runoff and subsurface flow by 
deposition, absorption, plant uptake, and other processes, thereby 
reducing pollution and protecting surface water and subsurface water 
quality, which are also intended to provide shade to reduce water 
temperature for improved habitat for aquatic organisms and supply large 
woody debris for aquatic organisms and habitat for wildlife.
    Soil loss tolerance (T) means the maximum average annual erosion 
rate specified in the FOTG that will not adversely impact the long-term 
productivity of the soil.
    State means State agencies, departments, districts, county or city 
governments, municipalities or any other State or local government of 
the State.
    State school trust land means land owned by a State with the 
explicit purpose of supporting public schools.
    State Technical Committee means a committee established pursuant to 
part 610 of this chapter to provide information, analysis, and 
recommendations to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
    State water quality priority areas means any area so designated by 
the State committee, in consultation with the State Technical Committee, 
where agricultural pollutants contribute to water degradation or create 
the potential for failure to meet applicable water quality standards or 
the goals and requirements of Federal or State water quality laws. These 
areas may include areas designated under section

[[Page 372]]

319 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1329) as water 
quality protection areas, sole source aquifers or other designated areas 
that result from agricultural nonpoint sources of pollution. Acreage in 
these areas may be determined eligible as conservation priority areas.
    Technical assistance means the assistance provided in connection 
with the CRP to owners or operators as approved by CCC, for developing 
conservation and/or tree planting plans, determining the eligibility of 
land and practices, implementing and certifying practices, and ensuring 
contract performance.
    Violation means an act by the participant, either intentional or 
unintentional, that would cause the participant to no longer be eligible 
for all or a portion of cost-share, incentive, or annual contract 
payments.
    Water Bank Program (WBP) means the program authorized by the Water 
Bank Act of 1970, as amended, in which eligible persons enter into 10-
year agreements to preserve, restore, and improve wetlands.
    Water cover means flooding of land by water either to develop or 
restore shallow water areas for wildlife or wetlands, or as a result of 
a natural disaster.
    Wellhead protection area means the area designated by EPA or the 
appropriate State agency with an Environmental Protection Agency 
approved Wellhead Protection Program for water being drawn for public 
use, as defined for public use by the Safe Drinking Water Act, as 
amended.
    Wetland means land defined as wetland in accordance with provisions 
of part 12 of this title.
    Wetlands farmed under natural conditions means land defined as 
wetlands farmed under natural conditions in accordance with provisions 
of part 12 of this title.
    Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP) means the program authorized by part 
1467 of this chapter in which eligible persons enter into long-term 
agreements to restore and protect wetlands.

[68 FR 24835, May 8, 2003, as amended at 69 FR 26763, May 14, 2004; 71 
FR 31917, Jun 2, 2006]