§ 3812.
(a)
Persons eligible for program benefits in connection with production or reduced production of crops on certain lands; eligibility based upon compliance with conservation plan by January 1, 1995; minimization of documentation
(1)
During the period beginning on
December 23, 1985, and ending on the later of
January 1, 1990, or the date that is 2 years after the date land on which a crop of an agricultural commodity is produced was mapped by the Soil Conservation Service for purposes of classifying such land under the land capability classification system in effect on
December 23, 1985, except as provided in paragraph (2), no person shall become ineligible under
section 3811 of this title for program loans, payments, and benefits as the result of the production of a crop of an agricultural commodity on any land that was—
(A)
cultivated to produce any of the 1981 through 1985 crops of an agricultural commodity; or
(B)
set aside, diverted or otherwise not cultivated under a program administered by the Secretary for any such crops to reduce production of an agricultural commodity.
(2)
Eligibility based on compliance with conservation plan.—
(A)
In general.—
If, as of January 1, 1990, or 2 years after the Soil Conservation Service has completed a soil survey for the farm, whichever is later, a person is actively applying a conservation plan, such person shall have until January 1, 1995, to comply with the plan without being subject to program ineligibility.
(B)
Minimization of documentation.—
In carrying out this subsection, the Secretary, Soil Conservation Service, and local soil conservation districts shall minimize the quantity of documentation a person must submit to comply with this paragraph.
(C)
Crop insurance.—
(i)
Operations new to compliance.—
Notwithstanding
section 3811(a) of this title, in the case of a person that is subject to
section 3811 of this title for the first time solely due to the amendment made by section 2611(a) of the Agricultural Act of 2014, any person who produces an agricultural commodity on the land that is the basis of the payments described in
section 3811(a)(1)(E) of this title shall have 5 reinsurance years after the date on which such payments become subject to
section 3811 of this title to develop and comply with an approved conservation plan so as to maintain eligibility for such payments.
(iii)
Applicable reinsurance year.—
(I)
only apply to reinsurance years subsequent to the date of a final determination of a violation, including all administrative appeals; and
(II)
not apply to the existing reinsurance year or any reinsurance year prior to the date of the final determination.
(3)
Any person who owns or operates highly erodible land that was the subject of a contract entered into under subpart B of part I of subchapter IV shall only be required to apply a conservation plan established under this subchapter. The person shall not be required to meet a higher conservation standard than the standard applied to other highly erodible cropland located within the same area. If the person’s conservation plan requires structures to be constructed, the person shall have until 2 years after the expiration of such contract to comply with the conservation plan, or a longer period of time if the Secretary determines compliance is otherwise technically or economically not feasible, or such longer period is otherwise appropriate, before such person will be subject to program ineligibility with respect to such land under
section 3811 of this title.
(4)
On the expiration of a contract entered into under subpart B of part I of subchapter IV, the provisions of this subchapter shall apply to the acreage that was the subject of such contract.
(b)
Persons eligible for program benefits in connection with production of certain planted crops or production of crops on highly erodible land
No person shall become ineligible under
section 3811 of this title for program loans, payments, and benefits as the result of the production of a crop of an agricultural commodity—
(1)
planted before December 23, 1985; or
(2)
planted during any crop year beginning before December 23, 1985.
(c)
Ineligibility for loans and payments under section 3811
No person shall become ineligible under
section 3811 of this title for program loans, payments, and benefits as the result of the production of a crop of an agricultural commodity or the designation of land to be set aside, diverted, devoted to conservation uses, or otherwise not cultivated under a program administered by the Secretary to reduce production of an agricultural commodity (hereafter in this subsection referred to as “set aside”)—
(1)
on highly erodible land in an area—
(A)
within a conservation district, under a conservation system that has been approved by a conservation district after the district has determined that the conservation system is in conformity with technical standards set forth in the Soil Conservation Service technical guide for such district; or
(B)
not within a conservation district, under a conservation system determined by the Secretary to be adequate for the protection of highly erodible land that has been set aside or for the production of such agricultural commodity on any highly erodible land subject to this chapter; or
(2)
on highly erodible land that is planted or set aside in reliance on a determination by the Soil Conservation Service that such land was not highly erodible land, except that this paragraph shall not apply to any agricultural commodity that was planted or set aside on any land after the Soil Conservation Service determines that such land is highly erodible land; or
(3)
on highly erodible land planted to alfalfa during each of the 1981 through 1985 crop years as part of a rotation practice approved by the Secretary, if the person has submitted a conservation plan, in which case, such person shall have until June 1, 1988
, to comply with the plan without being subject to program ineligibility under
(e)
Limitations on ineligibility for tenants
If a tenant is determined to be ineligible for payments and other benefits under
section 3811 of this title, the Secretary may limit such ineligibility only to the farm which is the basis for such ineligibility determination if—
(1)
the tenant has established to the satisfaction of the Secretary that—
(A)
the tenant has made a good faith effort to meet the requirements of this section, including enlisting the assistance of the Secretary to obtain a reasonable conservation plan for such farm; and
(B)
the landlord on the farm refuses to comply with such plan on such farm; and
(2)
the Secretary determines that such lack of compliance is not a part of a scheme or device to avoid such compliance.
The Secretary shall provide an annual report to the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate concerning the ineligibility determinations limited during the previous 12-month period under this subsection.
(g)
Preparation or revision of conservation plan
The Secretary, in providing assistance to an individual in the preparation or revision of a conservation plan under this section, shall provide such individual with information—
(1)
concerning cost effective and applicable erosion control measures that may be available to such individual to meet the requirements of this section; and
(2)
concerning crop flexibility, base adjustment, and conservation assistance options that may be available to such individual to meet the requirements of this section, including the provisions of titles X, XII, and XIII of the Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990 (or the amendments made by such titles).
([Pub. L. 99–198, title XII, § 1212], Dec. 23, 1985, [99 Stat. 1506]; [Pub. L. 100–28], §§ 2, 3, Apr. 24, 1987, [101 Stat. 291]; [Pub. L. 101–624, title XIV, § 1412], Nov. 28, 1990, [104 Stat. 3569]; [Pub. L. 102–237, title II, § 204(2)], Dec. 13, 1991, [105 Stat. 1854]; [Pub. L. 104–127, title III], §§ 301(d), 312–314, Apr. 4, 1996, [110 Stat. 981–983]; [Pub. L. 110–234, title II, § 2002], May 22, 2008, [122 Stat. 1027]; [Pub. L. 110–246, § 4(a)], title II, § 2002, June 18, 2008, [122 Stat. 1664], 1755; [Pub. L. 113–79, title II, § 2611(a)(2)], Feb. 7, 2014, [128 Stat. 762].)