The land must be owned or operated for not less than 12 months prior to the close of the signup period, unless the land was acquired by will or succession or FSA determines that ownership was not acquired for the purpose of placing the land in the CRP. This program is excluded from coverage under OMB Circular No. A-87. Preapplication Coordination: An environmental impact assessment has been prepared for this program. This program is excluded from coverage under OMB Circular No. A-102 and E.O. 12372. Application Procedure: FSA has three methods for enrolling acreage in the CRP. One method is a continuous signup process where acreage suitable for certain environmental priority practices, including but not limited to grass waterways, riparian buffers or filterstrips, and acreage within wellhead protection areas may be offered and accepted without going through a competitive offer process. The second method is similar to continuous signup and is available only in distinct geographic areas. These areas are targeted by FSA and State governments under partnership agreements. The third method is to offer acreage during a general signup period where eligible offers to enroll highly erodible and other environmentally sensitive acreage are submitted and ranked competitively based on an environmental benefits index. Regardless of the method of enrollment, the local FSA office that serves the area in which the farm or ranch is located will provide the maximum payment rate CCC will accept to enroll certain acreage in the program. Producers may submit a rental rate per acre offered that may be equal to or less than CCC's maximum payment rate. This program is excluded from coverage under OMB Circular Nos. A-102 and A-110. Award Procedure: FSA will notify persons whose offers are determined acceptable as soon as practicable after the close of the signup. Deadlines: The offer must be filed at the county FSA office by the end of the announced signup period. Range of Approval/Disapproval Time: From 7 to 120 days. Appeals: Producers may appeal any determination to county FSA committee, State committee, or National Appeals Division. Matters that are generally applicable to all producers are not appealable. Renewals: Not applicable. Formula and Matching Requirements: Not applicable. Length and Time Phasing of Assistance: Annual rental payments in cash or generic commodity certificates will be made for 10-15 years. If cost-share assistance to establish the appropriate cover was requested, a payment will be made after the practice is successfully established according to applicable guidelines. FSA may provide certain incentives for restoring wetlands or other lands. Reports: None. Audits: Recipients are subject to audit by the Office of Inspector General, USDA. Records: Maintained in county FSA office and Federal Record centers for a specified number of years. Account Identification: 12-3319-0-1-302; 12-4336-0-1-302. Obligations: (Direct Payments) Financial Assistance: FY 07 $1,969,880,000; FY 08 est not available; and FY 09 est not reported. Range and Average of Financial Assistance: $50 to $50,000; $4,000. PROGRAM ACCOMPLISHMENTS: Currently, approximately 33.5 million acres are enrolled in the CRP. Each contract covers an average of 74 acres with an average rental rate of $45.95 per acre. This is based on the latest actual data. REGULATIONS, GUIDELINES, AND LITERATURE: Program is announced through news media and in letters to agricultural producers in the county. Regulations published in the Federal Register, 7 CFR part 1410. Regional or Local Office: Consult the local telephone directory for location of the county FSA office, under U.S. Government, U.S. Department of Agriculture. If no listing, contact the appropriate State FSA office listed in the FSA section of Appendix IV of the Catalog. Headquarters Office: USDA/FSA/CEPD, Stop 0513, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20250-0513. Telephone: (202) 720-6221. Web Site Address: http://www.fsa.usda.gov. RELATED PROGRAMS: 10.054, Emergency Conservation Program; 10.064, Forestry Incentives Program; 10.072, Wetlands Reserve Program; 10.901, Resource Conservation and Development; 10.902, Soil and Water Conservation; 10.904, Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention. EXAMPLES OF FUNDED PROJECTS: Not applicable. CRITERIA FOR SELECTING PROPOSALS: County FSA offices will provide producers the maximum acceptable rental rate for the acreage offered. All offers submitted under a general signup will be screened at both the local and national level to determine the suitability of the acreage and acceptability of the rental rate offered. In addition, offers will be evaluated in terms of cost for the environmental benefits obtained. Acres accepted will be limited to the Secretary's authority to maintain 36.4 million acres or less as determined by the Secretary. 10.070 COLORADO RIVER BASIN SALINITY CONTROL PROGRAM (CRBSCP) FEDERAL AGENCY: NATURAL RESOURCES CONSERVATION SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE AUTHORIZATION: Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Act of 1974, as amended, Section 202c of Title II, 43 U.S.C. 1592c; Section 201, Public Law 93-320, 88 Stat. 271; Section 2, Public Law 98-569, 98 Stat. 2933, 43 U.S.C. 1592(c). OBJECTIVES: To provide financial and technical assistance to: (1) Identify salt source areas; (2) develop project plans to carry out conservation practices to reduce salt loads; (3) install conservation practices to reduce salinity levels; (4) carry out research, education, and demonstration activities; (5) carry out monitoring and evaluation activities; and (6) to decrease salt concentration and salt loading which causes increased salinity levels within in the Colorado River and to enhance the supply and quality of water available for use in the United States and the Republic of Mexico. TYPES OF ASSISTANCE: Direct Payments for Specified Use. USES AND USE RESTRICTIONS: Eligible owners or operators in approved project areas may receive cost-share assistance to treat salinity problems caused by agricultural irrigation activities. Applicant Eligibility: A participant may be any of the following: an owner, landlord, operator, or tenant of eligible lands: Individual, Indian tribe, partnership, firm, association, corporation, joint stock company, conservation district, estate, trust, irrigation district or company, and State or local public or nonpublic entity not described above. Beneficiary Eligibility: Any person in the Colorado River basin will benefit who uses or reuses water for irrigation, domestic, municipal or industrial water supply or for fish and wildlife habitat. Credentials/Documentation: Any eligible landowner or operator who controls land in an identified salt source area is eligible to apply for cost-share assistance. This program is currently available in Mesa, Delta, Montezuma, and Montrose counties, Colorado; Duchesne and Uintah counties, Utah; Sweetwater county, Wyoming. This program is excluded from coverage under OMB Circular No. A-87. Preapplication Coordination: This program is excluded from coverage under OMB Circular No. A-102. This program is eligible for coverage under E.O. 12372, "Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs." An applicant should consult the office or official designated as the single point of contact in his or her State for more information on the process the State requires to be followed in applying for assistance, if the State has selected the program for review. Application Procedure: Eligible persons may make application on Form SCS-LTP-001. CRSC contracts may be requested during sign-up periods throughout the year at the local NRCS office in the county where the land is located. This program is excluded from coverage under OMB Circular No. A-110. Award Procedure: The designated project Contracting officer may approve applications within the project allocation of Federal funds for cost-share assistance. Deadlines: None. Range of Approval/Disapproval Time: None. Appeals: Participants may appeal any determination to the National Appeals Division, Washington, DC. Renewals: Certain practice approvals may be extended by the contracting Offices. Formula and Matching Requirements: Cost-share assistance levels may be funded up to 70 percent of total cost. Length and Time Phasing of Assistance: Long-term contracts of 3 to 10 years. Cost-share assistance is paid when the practice is performed. Reports: None. Audits: Subject to audit by Office of the Inspector General, USDA. Records: Records are maintained in the NRCS office and Federal record centers for a specified number of years. Account Identification: 12-3318-0-1-304. Obligations: (Direct payments) FY 07 $0; FY 08 est $0; and FY 09 est not reported. (Salaries and Expenses) FY 07 est $10,000; FY 08 est $0; and FY 09 est not reported. Range and Average of Financial Assistance: The range has not been identified. Average: $20,000. PROGRAM ACCOMPLISHMENTS: This program is operated in 6 project areas in 3 States (Colorado, Utah and REGULATIONS, GUIDELINES, AND LITERATURE: Guidelines are announced through the news media and in letters to agricultural producers in the county. Regional or Local Office: Consult the local telephone directory for location of the local NRCS field office. If there is no listing, get in touch with the appropriate State NRCS office listed in the NRCS section of Appendix IV of the Catalog. Headquarters Office: Financial Assistance Programs Division, Department of Agriculture, P.O. Box 2890, Washington, DC 20013. Dave Mason, Telephone: (202) 720-1873. Use the same number for FTS. Web Site Address: http://www.nrsc.usda.gov. RELATED PROGRAMS: 10.072, Wetlands Reserve Program; 10.064, Forestry Incentives Program; 10.902, Soil and Water Conservation; 10.904, Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention; 10.900, Great Plains Conservation; 10.912, Environmental Quality Incentives Program. EXAMPLES OF FUNDED PROJECTS: For the past several fiscal years, salinity control activities were funded under the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP). CRITERIA FOR SELECTING PROPOSALS: The type and severity of salinity problems; the need to correlate on the farm conservation treatment with canal and lateral improvement; estimated cost; extent of the salinity problem; proximity to water bodies; land use charges; offsite effects; onsite environmental effects; other resource problems; seasonal nature of salinity reduction practices to be installed; applicants' ability to complete practices in the shortest time practical; and positive or negative effects on wildlife. 10.072 WETLANDS RESERVE PROGRAM (WRP) FEDERAL AGENCY: NATURAL RESOURCES CONSERVATION SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE AUTHORIZATION: Food Security Act of 1985, Title XII, Public Law 99-198, as amended; Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990, Title XIV, Section 1237, Public Law 101-624, 104 Stat. 3584, 7 U.S.C. 3837, as amended; Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993; Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act of 1996; Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act of 1998 and Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act of 2001 and as amended, Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002. OBJECTIVES: To assist landowners in restoring and protecting wetlands on eligible lands on which they agree to enter into a permanent or long-term easement, or a restoration cost-share agreement with the Secretary. The goal of WRP is to maximize wetland functions and values and wildlife benefits on every acre enrolled in the program. Total acreage enrollment limitation is 2,275,000 acres. TYPES OF ASSISTANCE: Direct Payments for Specified Use. USES AND USE RESTRICTIONS: Eligible landowners may offer farmed wetlands, prior converted wetlands, wetlands farmed under natural condition, former or degraded wetlands on lands that have been used or are currently being used for the production of food and fiber, including rangeland and forest production land, lands substantially altered by flooding, certain riparian areas, along with certain adjacent areas, to be placed under a permanent or 30-year easement, or restoration cost-share agreement. A deed restriction covering the land approved under easement must be recorded in the local land deeds office. Subject to the acceptance of an offer by the Federal Government, the landowner will receive in cash an amount specified in the WRP contract as determined by a method prescribed by the Secretary. The landowner shall ensure that the easement granted to Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is superior to the rights of all others and shall agree to implement a wetland restoration plan designed to restore and maintain the easement area. The plan will include a designated access route to be used as necessary for easement management and monitoring. The landowner will receive financial and technical assistance to install necessary restoration practices on the land under easement or the practice will be installed by the Secretary. The landowner shall agree to a permanent retirement of crop acreage bases, allotments, and quotas to the extent that the sum of the crop acreage bases and allotments will not exceed the remaining cropland of the present farm or subsequently reconstituted farm. In cases involving restoration participants receive restoration cost-share and technical assistance and no easement payment. Applicant Eligibility: An individual landowner, partnership, association, corporation, estate, trust, other business or other legal entities and, whenever applicable, a State, a political subdivision of a State, or any agency thereof owning eligible lands. Beneficiary Eligibility: An individual landowner, partnership, association, corporation, estate, trust, other business enterprises or other legal entities and, whenever applicable, a State, a political subdivision of a State, or any agency thereof owning private croplands will benefit. Credentials/Documentation: The landowner must have owned the land offered for at least the preceding 12 months prior to the end of the period in which the intent to participate in an easement is declared unless the land was acquired by will or succession as a result of the death of the previous owner; or the Department determines that the new owner did not acquire such land for the purpose of placing it in the WRP. This program is excluded from coverage under OMB Circular No. A-87. The 12 month requirement is not applicable to restoration agreement. Preapplication Coordination: An environmental impact assessment has been prepared for this program. This program is excluded from coverage under E.O. 12372. Application Procedure: Submit an application to enroll to the local NRCS office that serves the area in which the farm or ranch is located during the designated sign-up period. This program is excluded from coverage under OMB Circular Nos. A-102 and A-110. Award Procedure: The States will provide a list of potential acceptable offers and request for allocation of funds. The Department will allocate funding in a manner designed to achieve cost effectiveness and maximum wetland restoration based wildlife benefits. The States will notify the landowners of the status of their applicaiton. This process will be completed as soon as practical after funding becomes available. For all tentatively accepted applications, a determination of easement compensation value will be made according to the current procedures as prescribed by the Secretary. Deadlines: None. The program operates under a continuous sign-up process. The application to participate must be filed at the local NRCS office. Range of Approval/Disapproval Time: From 60 to 180 days after the application is filed with the NRCS. Landowner application may remain on sign-up list for subsequent funding consideration. Appeals: Landowner may appeal certain determinations to the National Appeals Division. Renewals: The land offered may be re-offered in a future sign-up unless land or landowner is ineligible. Formula and Matching Requirements: Lump sum payments or no less than 5 nor more than 30 annual payments of equal or unequal value are made for easements. Cost-share payments of 100 percent of the cost of implementing the Wetland Restoration Plan will be paid for a permanent easement with 75 percent of permanent easement amounts being paid for 30-year easements and restoration cost-share agreements. Length and Time Phasing of Assistance: Cash easement payments will be made in a lump sum amount, or in annual installments beginning at closing. Cost share payments for implementation of easement practices will be made when a specific practice has been implemented by either the landowner or contractor. Reports: None. Audits: Recipients are subject to audit by the Office of Inspector General, USDA. FARM SERVICE AGENCY, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE AUTHORIZATION: The Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act of 2001, Public Law 106-387. OBJECTIVES: The Acts authorizes the Secretary to provide disaster assistance to producers who suffered crop losses in the 2000 crop year because of adverse weather conditions. Disaster payment provisions apply if the crop could not be planted or production, both in quantity and quality, was adversely affected by: (1) Damaging weather, including drought, excessive moisture, hail, earthquake, freeze, tornado, hurricane, typhoon, volcano, excessive wind, excessive heat, or a combination thereof; or (2) related conditions of insect infestation such as grasshoppers and Mormon crickets, plant disease such as Pierce's disease and watermelon sudden wilt disease, or other deterioration of the crop, including aflatoxin, that is accelerated or exacerbated naturally because of damaging weather occurring before or during harvest. TYPES OF ASSISTANCE: Direct Payments with Unrestricted Use. USES AND USE RESTRICTIONS: Assistance under the Crop Disaster Program will be available for: (1) 2000 crop losses on prevented planted acreage, reduced production of planted acreage, or reduced quality on certain crops; (2) value loss crops, including nursery and aquaculture. Direct financial compensation will be paid to producers with eligible crop losses greater than 35 percent compared to the historical average county yield or the producers actual production history (APH), whichever is greater. Persons with a gross revenue in excess of $2.5 million for the 1999 tax year are not eligible for benefits under the 2000 CDP. The payment limitation for 2000 CDP benefits is $80,000 per person. There are no use restrictions on the benefits received under this program. Applicant Eligibility: Any producer that had a financial risk and received or would have received a share of the 2000 crop will be eligible for benefits, if all other requirements have been met. Eligible crops for the disaster program include: (1) NAP crops defined in FSA Handbook 1-NAP; (2) crops for which Federal crop insurance is available, regardless of whether insurance was purchased. The producer must be able to show, with verifiable evidence, that the producer had an interest in the commodity produced or had control of the crop acreage on which this commodity was grown at the time of the disaster, which is the basis for the application for payment. One of the following shall be obtained as determined by the FSA County Committee: (1) Copies of signed written lease; (2) copies of signed rental agreements; (3) copies of other legal documents showing land ownership or control; (4) statement signed by the landowner that the producer had control of the acreage; (5) statement signed by the operator or producer that the producer had control of the acreage on the farm. Highly Erodible Land and Wetland Restrictions apply to CDP benefits. If, subsequent to the disaster, an eligible producer is now deceased or is a dissolved entity, a representative of the deceased producer or dissolved entity may sign the CCC-557 application, if the representative currently has authority to enter into a contract for the producer. Beneficiary Eligibility: Any producer that had a financial risk and received or would have received a share of the 2000 crop will be eligible for benefits, if all other requirements have been met. Credentials/Documentation: Producers shall provide production records for uninsured, noninsurable, and insured crops not meeting the loss threshold. Acceptable documentation includes verifiable and reliable records. Verifiable records are production records for an eligible crop must be submitted by the producer to support an application, or as required, to support a certification of production. Verifiable records of production include contemporaneous records provided by the producer that: (1) May be verified by FSA through an independent source; (2) are used to substantiate the amount of production reported; (3) verifiable records must be dated, show disposition of the crop's production, including quantity, and be crop specific for crops that are produced more than once in a calendar year. If verifiable records are not available, the producer shall provide reliable records documentation similar to copies of receipts, ledgers or income, income statements of deposit slips, register tapes, invoices for custom harvesting, and records to verify production input costs. Preapplication Coordination: To prepare for the application procedure, the producer must provide evidence of the existence of the crop, certify to the disaster condition, and provide production totals to FSA. This program is excluded from coverage under E.O. 12372. Application Procedure: The application sign up period runs from January 18, 2001 through May 4, 2001 or such other date as may be announced. The following forms are required to apply for benefits under the Crop Disaster Program: CCC-557-2000 Crop Disaster Program Application; CCC-562 - Gross Revenue Certification Statement; CCC-561 - Contract to purchase Crop Insurance; AD-1026 - Highly Erodible Land Conservation (HELC) and Wetland Conservation (WC) Certification (if one is not already on file); CCC-502 - Farm Operating Plan for Payment Eligibility Review (if one is not already on file); FSA-578D- Acreage Report (if one is not already on file for non-insured crops). Award Procedure: The CDP provides a one-time payment for 2000 crop disasters. Deadlines: Please contact the program contact listed in the Information Contacts section below. Range of Approval/Disapproval Time: FSA County Offices were authorized to make payments under this program upon publication of the regulations in the Federal Register. Appeals: All producers receiving adverse decisions regarding their application under the disaster program are afforded appeal rights at several levels culminating at the National Appeals Division, which is a separate entity apart from the Farm Service Agency. Renewals: Not applicable. Formula and Matching Requirements: Eligible producers must have suffered 2000 crop losses in excess of 35%. Crop losses above 35% will be eligible for assistance at 65% of the county crop table price for insured crops or crops in which Federal crop insurance is not available and 60% of the county crop table price for insurable crops in which the producer did not purchase Federal crop insurance. As a condition of receiving benefits under CDP, any producer who elected to not purchase crop insurance on a crop in 2000 for which CDP benefits are requested must purchase crop insurance on that crop for the 2001 and 2002 crop years. Length and Time Phasing of Assistance: Program payments are made after the application is filed and approved by the COC. Reports: None. Audits: FSA will implement a national compliance program to spot check and verify the accuracy of applications received throughout the country. The Office of Inspector General will conduct program audits on a random basis throughout the country. Records: Participants must maintain production evidence for 3 years. Account Identification: 12-4336-0-1-351. Obligations: (Direct Payments) FY 07 $0; FY 08 est not available; and FY 09 est not available. Range and Average of Financial Assistance: There is no minimum amount of assistance which may be received by an individual applicant. The national "person" limit is $80,000. PROGRAM ACCOMPLISHMENTS: All available program funding will be used among eligible applicants. REGULATIONS, GUIDELINES, AND LITERATURE: CDP regulations are provided in 7 CFR Part 1480. Agency procedures are listed in Handbook 3-DAP. Disaster Program Fact Sheets may be located on line at http://www.fsa.usda.gov/pas/publications/facts/pubfacts.htm. Regional or Local Office: Applications are filed at the local county office of the Farm Service Agency. The location of all FSA field offices is listed on the WEB at http://www.fsa.usda.gov/edso/ or in the Farm Service Agency section of Appendix IV of the Catalog. Headquarters Office: Department of Agriculture, Farm Service Agency, Production Emergencies and Compliance Division, Compliance Branch, 1400 Independence Ave. S.W., Washington DC 20250-0514. Telephone: (202) 720-9882. Web Site Address: http://www.fsa.usda.gov. RELATED PROGRAMS: 10.450, Crop Insurance; 10.404, Emergency Loans. EXAMPLES OF FUNDED PROJECTS: Not applicable. CRITERIA FOR SELECTING PROPOSALS: All producers meeting eligibility requirements may receive assistance subject to the national payment factor. Applications are non-competitive. 10.077 LIVESTOCK COMPENSATION PROGRAM (LCP) FEDERAL AGENCY: FARM SERVICE AGENCY, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE AUTHORIZATION: Section 32 of the Act of August 24, 1935, as amended. Section 203(a) of Agricultural Assistance Act of 2003, Public Law 108-07. Section 2103 of the Emergency Wartime Supplemental Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2003, Public Law 108-11. OBJECTIVES: This program will provide immediate assistance to livestock producers in counties that have received primary disaster designation due to drought in 2001 and/or 2002. TYPES OF ASSISTANCE: Direct Payments with Unrestricted Use. USES AND USE RESTRICTIONS: None. Applicant Eligibility: Compensation for cattle, sheep, goats, buffalo, and catfish producers in counties that have received primary disaster designation due to drought in 2001 and/or 2002. An eligible county must be approved as a primary county between January 1, 2001, and February 20, 2003, for Presidential or Secretarial disaster designation for damages and losses because of natural disaster. Beneficiary Eligibility: Producers of cattle, sheep, goats, buffalo, and catfish. Credentials/Documentation: All applicants must: (1) conduct a livestock operation that is physically located in a disaster county; (2) meet all other eligibility requirements established by the Secretary for the Program; (3) produce an animal described in section 10806(a)(1) of the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 (21 U.S.C. 321d(a)(1)). In addition, Catfish producers must certify compliance with: (1) the adjusted gross income limitation contained in section 1001D of the Food Security Act of 1985 (7 U.S.C. 1308-3a); and (2) conservation compliance provisions according to regulations found at 7 CFR part 12. Preapplication Coordination: There is no preapplication coordination related to this program. This program is excluded from coverage under E.O. 12372. Application Procedure: Applicants contact their local county Farm Service Agency Office or U.S. Department of Agriculture Service Center for sign-up information. In general, applicants will certify on the application form CCC-370, the number and type of eligible livestock owned or leased as of June 1, 2002. Documentation will be required from each applicant selected for a spot check that indicates all livestock for which payment was received that were sold or died after June 1, 2002. Owners or lessees of eligible livestock must certify the number owned or leased as of June 1, 2002. The animals must have been owned for 90 days or more and must fall within the 90-day ownership period. Award Procedure: None. Deadlines: None. Range of Approval/Disapproval Time: From 1 to 30 days. Appeals: None. Renewals: None. Formula and Matching Requirements: Adult beef cattle, buffalo, and beefalo (cows and bulls), $18.00 per head; Beef, dairy, buffalo, and beefalo replacement heifers (500 lbs. and over), $13.50 per head; Adult dairy cattle (cows and bulls), $31.50 per head; Beef, dairy, buffalo, and beefalo steers (500 lbs. and over), $13.50 per head; Nonbreeding beef, dairy, buffalo, and beefalo heifers (500 lbs. and over), $13.50 per head; Beef, dairy, buffalo, and beefalo bulls (500 lbs. and over), $13.50 per head; Sheep (All), born prior to June 1, 2002, $ 4.50 per head; Goats (All), born prior to June 1, 2002, $ 4.50 per head; Catfish feed, $34 per ton of feed purchased in calendar year 2002. Length and Time Phasing of Assistance: Payment is made by check or direct deposit after determining applicant eligibility. Reports: None. Audits: Recipients under this program are subject to audit by the Office of the Regional Inspector General, U.S. Department of Agriculture. Records: Livestock producers or any other individual or entity receiving assistance for LCP shall maintain and retain financial books and records which will permit verification of all transactions for at least 3 years, following the end of the calendar year in which assistance was provided. Account Identification: 12-4336-0-1-351. Obligations: (Direct Payments) FY 07 $0; FY 08 est $0; and FY 09 est not reported. Range and Average of Financial Assistance: Producers participating in LCP are subject to a $2.5 million gross revenue limitation per person or less for the preceding tax year. Payments are limited to $40,000 per person. There is no minimum amount of assistance that may be received by an individual producer. PROGRAM ACCOMPLISHMENTS: None. REGULATIONS, GUIDELINES, AND LITERATURE: Program is announced through news media and in letters to agricultural producers in the county. Regulations published in the Federal Register, 67 CFR Part 63070 and 7 CFR Part 3016. LCP Fact Sheet may be located online at http://www.fsa.usda.gov/pas/publications/facts/pubfacts.htm. Regional or Local Office: Farm Service Agency State Offices can inform applicants of county office locations where applicants may apply for assistance. Headquarters Office: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Farm Service Agency, Production Emergency and Compliance Division, Washington, DC 20250. Web Site Address: http://www.fsa.usda.gov. RELATED PROGRAMS: 10.066, Livestock Assistance Program. EXAMPLES OF FUNDED PROJECTS: Not applicable. CRITERIA FOR SELECTING PROPOSALS: All producers meeting eligibility requirements may receive assistance subject to the national payment factor. Applications are non-competitive. 10.078 BIOENERGY PROGRAM (BIO) FEDERAL AGENCY: FARM SERVICE AGENCY, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE AUTHORIZATION: Title IX, Section 9010, Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 and Section 5(e) of the CCC Charter Act, 15 U.S.C. 714c. OBJECTIVES: The goals of the Bioenergy Program are to encourage increased purchases of eligible commodities for the purpose of expanding production of such bioenergy and support new production capacity for such bioenergy. TYPES OF ASSISTANCE: Direct Payments for Specified Use. USES AND USE RESTRICTIONS: Bioenergy producers may increase their purchases of eligible commodities as compared to the previous fiscal year purchases and convert that commodity into increased commercial fuel grade ethanol and biodiesel production as compared to previous fiscal year ethanol and biodiesel production. The Program defines eligible commodities as barley, corn, grain sorghum, oats, rice, wheat, soybeans, sunflower seed, canola, crambe, rapeseed, safflower, sesame seed, flaxseed, mustard seed, and cellulosic crops, such as switchgrass and short rotation trees, grown on farms, for the purpose of producing ethanol and/or biodiesel or any other commodity or commodity by-product as determined and announced by CCC used in ethanol and biodiesel production which is produced in the United States and its territories. Applicant Eligibility: All bioenergy producers are eligible to participate in the program. To participate, ethanol producers must provide USDA with evidence of increased production of bioenergy and increased purchase and utilization of agricultural commodities related to that increased production. Biodiesel producers must provide evidence of production and purchase and utilization of agricultural commodities related to that production. Beneficiary Eligibility: Bioenergy producers. Credentials/Documentation: USDA will collect information from bioenergy producers that request payments under the Bioenergy Program as the Secretary may require to ensure that benefits are paid only to eligible bioenergy producers for eligible commodities. Bioenergy producers seeking program payments will have to meet minimum requirements by providing information concerning the production of bioenergy. Applicants must certify that they will abide by the Bioenergy Program Agreement's provisions. This program is excluded from coverage under OMB Circular No. A-87. Preapplication Coordination: There is no preapplication coordination related to this program. This program is excluded from coverage under E.O. 12372. Application Procedure: The Bioenergy Program sign-up period is from August 1 through August 31, or as announced. To participate in the program, producers must complete a Bioenergy Program Agreement, Form CCC 850 and Bioenergy Program Annual Production Information, Form CCC-850 Supplement. Award Procedure: None. Deadlines: Please contact the program contact listed in the Information Contacts section below or Headquarters office. Range of Approval/Disapproval Time: From 1 to 30 days. Appeals: Any participant who is subject to an adverse determination may appeal the determination by filing a written request with the Deputy Administrator at the following address: Deputy Administrator, Commodity Operations, Farm Service Agency, Department of Agriculture, STOP 0550, 1400 Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington, DC 20250-0550. To receive consideration, the participant must file the appeal within 30 days after written notice of the decision, which is the subject of the appeal, is mailed or otherwise made available to the participant. An appeal shall be considered to have been filed when personally delivered in writing to the Deputy Administrator or when the properly addressed request, postage paid, is postmarked. The Deputy Administrator may accept and act upon an appeal even though it is not timely filed if, in the judgement of the Deputy Administrator, circumstances warrant such action. Renewals: None. Formula and Matching Requirements: USDA will pay eligible producers up to $150 million each FY on a quarterly basis. Payments to each producer are capped at 5 percent of available funding (up to $7.5 million) each FY. USDA will base ethanol payments on the increase in ethanol production compared to the previous FY's production and biodiesel payments on the biodiesel production each FY. Payments will be structured to encourage participation of producers with less than 65 million gallons annual production capacity. Producers with total annual production of: (a) less than 65 million gallons are reimbursed 1 feedstock unit for every 2.5 used for increased production; (b) 65 million gallons or more are reimbursed 1 feedstock unit for every 3.5 used for increased production. In addition, biodiesel producers are reimbursed for base production at 50 percent the rate of increased production. If the applications exceed the program's available funding, USDA will apply a factor to payments to hold program expenditures to available funding for the applicable FY. Length and Time Phasing of Assistance: The program is funded at up to $150 million each FY for FYS 2003 through 2006. Reports: Multiple FY Agreements require annual production estimate reports to be submitted during each applicable FY sign-up period. Such reports must comply with the terms of the Agreement and Bioenergy Program regulations. In all cases, the accounting for compliance will be made on a per FY basis. Audits: Participants under this program are subject to audit by the Office of the Regional Inspector General, Department of Agriculture. Records: Bioenergy producers or any other individual or entity receiving payments for Bioenergy Program shall maintain and retain financial books and records which will permit verification of all transactions for at least 3 years, following the end of the calendar year in which payments were received. Account Identification: 12-4336-0-1-271. Obligations: (Direct Payments) FY 07 $60,000,000; FY 08 est $0; and FY 09 est not reported. Range and Average of Financial Assistance: Not applicable. PROGRAM ACCOMPLISHMENTS: None. REGULATIONS, GUIDELINES, AND LITERATURE: Program is announced through news media and is posted on Farm Service Agency website. Regulations published in Title IX, Section 9010, Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002. Bioenergy Program fact sheet may be located online at http://www.fsa.usda.gov/pas/publications/facts/html/Bioenergy03.htm. Regional or Local Office: None. Headquarters Office: Department of Agriculture, Farm Service Agency, Kansas City Commodity Office, Contract Reconciliation Division, P.O. Box 419205, STOP 8758, Kansas City, MO 64141-6205. Telephone: (816) 926-6525. Web Site Address: www.fsa.usda.gov/daco/bio_daco.htm. RELATED PROGRAMS: None. EXAMPLES OF FUNDED PROJECTS: CRITERIA FOR SELECTING PROPOSALS: (1) All fuel ethanol production is eligible; however, ethanol under 200 proof will be converted to 200 proof gallons before payment calculations are made; (2) Ethanol producers must produce and sell ethanol commercially and have authority from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives to produce ethanol for fuel or sell denatured ethanol rendered unfit for beverage use; (3) Biodiesel producers must produce and sell biodiesel commercially, and the biodiesel must be a mono alkyl ester manufactured in the United States that meets the American Society for Testing and Materials Standard's biodiesel standard. 10.079 BILL EMERSON HUMANITARIAN TRUST (EHT) FEDERAL AGENCY: FARM SERVICE AGENCY, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE AUTHORIZATION: Sections 301 and 302, Title III of Bill Emerson Humanitarian Trust. Section 302 (c) of the Agricultural Act of 1980, as amended. The Emergency Wartime Supplemental Appropriations, Public Law 108-11. OBJECTIVES: To provide for a Trust solely to meet emergency humanitarian food needs in developing countries, the Secretary of Agriculture shall establish a trust stock of wheat, rice, corn, or sorghum, or any combination of the commodities, totaling not more than 4,000,000 metric tons for use as described. TYPES OF ASSISTANCE: Direct Payments with Unrestricted Use. USES AND USE RESTRICTIONS: The Secretary may release eligible commodities only to the extent such release is consistent with maintaining the long-term value of the trust. Applicant Eligibility: Developing countries that suffer from natural disasters (such as extreme drought, flood, earthquake, etc.), prolong war, prolong diseases, and/or acute hunger. Beneficiary Eligibility: Developing countries. Credentials/Documentation: |