tration, or a production credit association supervised by the Farm Credit Administration, such assignment may be witnessed by a bonded officer of the lending institution. Such assignment shall be filed with the county committee. Such assignment shall not be made to pay or secure any preexisting indebtedness. This provision shall not authorize any suit against or impose any liability upon the Secretary or any disbursing agent if payment to the farmer is made without regard to the existence of any such assignment. The Secretary shall prescribe such regulations as he determines necessary to carry out the provisions of this subsection. (16 U.S.C. 590h(g).)

[NAVAL STORES CONSERVATION PROGRAM.20-In administering the naval stores conservation programs authorized in section 8 and in making payments thereunder to gum naval stores producers the Secretary may utilize the services of regional associations of such producers or any agency of the Government in lieu of the State, county, and other local committees utilized in the other agricultural conservation programs if he finds that more efficient administration will result, and the provisions of section 388(b) of the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938 shall otherwise be applicable to the administration of said naval stores conservation programs. (16 U.S.C. 590h-1.)]

SURVEYS, INVESTIGATIONS, AND REPORTS

SEC. 9. The Secretary is authorized to conduct surveys, investigations, and research relating to the conditions and factors affecting, and methods of accomplishing most effectively, the policy and purposes of section 7(a). Notwithstanding any provision of existing law, the Secretary is authorized to make public such information as he deems necessary to carry out the provisions of this Act. The Secretary shall transmit to the Congress a report, for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1937, and for each fiscal year thereafter, of the operations for such year under sections 7 to 14, inclusive, of this Act, which report shall include a statement of the expenditures made and obligations incurred, by classes and amounts. (16 U.S.C. 590i.)

DEFINITION OF AGRICULTURAL COMMODITY

SEC. 10. The term "agricultural commodity" as used in this Act means any such commodity and any regional or market classification, type, or grade thereof. (16 U.S.C. 590j.)

AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS

SEC. 11. All funds available for carrying out this Act shall be available for allotment to the bureaus and offices of the Department of Agriculture and for transfer to such other agencies of the Federal or State Governments, or to local public agencies, as the Secretary may request to cooperate or assist in carrying out this Act, and for payments to committees or associations of producers in any region or regions to cover the estimated administrative expenses to be incurred by any such committee or association in cooperating in carrying out

20 Act of June 16, 1938, P.L. 75-644, 52 Stat. 746.

this Act: Provided, That the Secretary may prescribe that all or part of such estimated expenses of any such committee or association may be deducted pro rata from the payments or grants made to the members thereof: Provided further, That the Secretary may make such payments in advance of determination of performance: Provided further, That the transfer of funds for services of technicians in formulating and carrying out agricultural conservation programs, from allotments for agricultural conservation payments within a State, shall be subject to such limitations and conditions as may be provided in appropriation or other law. Funds so transferred may be placed in a single account for each State. (16 U.S.C. 590k.)

EXPANSION OF MARKETS FOR AGRICULTURAL COMMODITIES AND ADVANCING FUNDS TO FEDERAL CROP INSURANCE CORPORATION SEC. 12. (a) Whenever the Secretary finds that the exercise of the powers conferred in this section will tend to carry out the purpose specified in clause (5) of section 7(a), or will tend to provide for and maintain a continuous and stable supply of agricultural commodities adequate to meet consumer demand at prices fair to both producers and consumers, or both, he shall use such part as he deems necessary of the sums appropriated to carry out this Act for the expansion of domestic and foreign markets or for seeking new or additional markets for agricultural commodities or the products thereof or for the removal or disposition of surpluses of such commodities or the products thereof. (16 U.S.C. 590/(a).)

(b)21 The Secretary is authorized to make advances to producers for the purpose of assisting them to insure their crops with the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation. The Secretary shall remit the amount of any such advances to a producer directly to such Corporation in payment of the premium on the insurance for which the producer has made application. Advances shall only be made to producers who are partícipating or who agree to participate in a program formulated pursuant to section 8. Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, the terms and conditions of such advances shall be fixed by the Secretary. In carrying out the provisions of this subsection, the Secretary may transfer to the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation, prior to the execution of applications for insurance or requests for advances by producers, the funds estimated as necessary to cover the advances which will be requested for the payment of premiums under a crop-insurance program, and any portion of such funds not used for advances to producers under such program shall be returned to the Secretary by the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation. (16 U.S.C. 590/(b).)

EXECUTION OF POWERS OF SECRETARY BY PRODUCTION AND
MARKETING ADMINISTRATION

SEC. 13. Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this Act, the Secretary is authorized and directed to provide for the execution by the Production and Marketing Administration of such powers conferred upon him under sections 7 to 14, inclusive, of this Act as he deems may be appropriately exercised by such Administration, and for such pur

21 See section 391(c) of the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938, as amended.

poses the provisions of law applicable to the appointment and compensation of persons employed by the Production and Marketing Administration shall apply. (16 U.S.C. 590m.)

FINALITY OF DETERMINATIONS

SEC. 14. The facts constituting the bases for any payment or grant or the amount thereof authorized to be made under section 7 or 8 hereof, when officially determined in conformity with rules or regulations prescribed by the Secretary of Agriculture, shall be reviewable only by the Secretary of Agriculture. Payments to claimants under sections 7 to 17, inclusive, of this Act may be made upon the certificate of the claimant, which certificate shall be in such form as the Secretary of Agriculture may prescribe, that he has carried out the conservation practice or practices and has complied with all other requirements as conditions for such payments and that the statements and information contained in the application for payment are correct and true, to the best of his knowledge and belief, under the penalties of title 18, United States Code. (16 U.S.C. 590n.)

APPROPRIATIONS, AUTHORIZATIONS AND ALLOCATIONS OF FUNDS

SEC. 15.22 To enable the Secretary of Agriculture to carry out the purposes of sections 7 and 8 there is hereby authorized to be appropriated for any fiscal year not exceeding $500,000,000. The amount appropriated shall be available until expended. A specified amount or percentage of the appropriation shall be designated for long-term agreements based on farm and ranch conservation plans approved by local conservation districts, where such districts are organized. The Secretary shall distribute the funds available for financial assistance among the several States in accordance with their conservation needs, as determined by the Secretary.23 (16 U.S.C. 5900.)

LIMITATION ON OBLIGATIONS INCURRED

SEC. 16. (a) The obligations incurred for the purpose of carrying out for any calendar year, the provisions of sections 7 to 14, inclusive, of this Act shall not exceed $500,000,000. (16 U.S.C. 590p(a).)

GREAT PLAINS CONSERVATION PROGRAM

(b) Not withstanding any other provision of law

(1)24 the Secretary is authorized, within the amounts of such appropriations as may be provided therefor, to enter into contracts of not to exceed ten years with owners and operators of land in the

22 Additional provisions relating to the program appear in the annual appropriation act of the Department. The Department of Agriculture and Related Agencies Appropriation Act, 1962, 75 Stat. 233, provided with respect to the program "... hereafter not to exceed 10 per centum of the basic allocation for any State may be used to increase the State's preceding program.

See section 391 of the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938, as amended, for provisions authorizing Commodity Credit Corporation each fiscal year to loan to the Secretary "such sums, not to exceed $50,000,000 as he estimates will be requried during such fiscal year, to make crop insurance premium advances and to make advances pursuant to the applicable provisions of sections 8 and 12 of the Soil Conservation and Domestic Allotment Act, as amended, in connection with programs applicable to crops harvested in the calendar year in which such fiscal year ends.. This authority is used to borrow funds required during a fiscal year to pay vendors for purchases by farmers of conservation materials and services needed under the program.

23 Sec. 1501 of the Food and Agriculture Act of 1977, P.L. 95-113, 91 Stat. 1020, Sept. 29, 1977, added the last three sentences of Sec. 15 and deleted the previous second paragraph.

24 Subsections (1), (2), and (7) were amended by P.L. 91-118, 83 Stat. 194. November 18, 1969.

Great Plains area having such control as the Secretary determines to be needed of the farms, ranches, or other lands covered thereby; but such contracts shall be entered into with respect to lands, other than farms or ranches, only where erosion is so serious as to make such contracts necessary for the protection of farm or ranch lands. Such contracts shall be designed to assist farm, ranch, or other land owners or operators to make, in orderly progression over a period of years, changes in their cropping systems or land uses which are needed to conserve, develop, protect, and utilize the soil and water resources of their farms, ranches, and other lands to install the soil and water conservation measures and carry out the practices needed under such changed systems and uses. Such contracts may be entered into during the period ending not later than December 31, 1981, with respect to farms, ranches, and other lands in counties in the Great Plains area of the States of Colorado, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, and Wyoming, designated by the Secretary as susceptible to serious wind erosion by reason of their soil types, terrain, and climatic and other factors. The land owner or operator shall furnish to the Secretary a plan of farming operatíons or land use which incorporates such soil and water conservation practices and principles as may be determined by him to be practicable for maximum mitigation of climatic hazards of the area in which such land is located, and which outlines a schedule of proposed changes in cropping systems or land use and of the conservation measures which are to be carried out on the farm, ranch, or other land during the contract period to protect the farm, ranch, or other land from erosion and deterioration by natural causes. Such plan may also include practices and measures for (a) enhancing fish and wildlife and recreation resources, (b) promoting the economic use of land, and (c) reducing or controlling agricultural related pollution. Inclusion in the farm plan of these practices shall be the exclusive decision of the land owner or operator. Approved conservation plans of land owners and operators developed in cooperation with the soil and water conservation district in which their lands are situated shall form a basis for contracts. Under the contract the land owner or operator shall agree

(i) to effectuate the plan for his farm, ranch, or other land substantially in accordance with the schedule outlined therein unless any requirement thereof is waived or modified by the Secretary pursuant to paragraph (3) of this subsection;

(ii) to forfeit all rights to further payments or grants under the contract and refund to the United States all payments or grants received thereunder upon his violation of the contract at any stage during the time he has control of the land if the Secretary, after considering the recommendations of the soil and water conservation district board, determines that such violation is of such a nature as to warrant termination of the contract, or to make refunds or accept such payment adjustments as the Secretary may deem appropriate if he determines that the violation by the owner or operator does not warrant termination of the contract;

(iii) upon transfer of his right and interest in the farm, ranch, or other land during the contract period to forfeit all

rights to further payments or grants under the contract and refund to the United States all payments or grants received thereunder unless the transferee of any such land agrees with the Secretary to assume all obligations of the contract;

(iv) not to adopt any practice specified by the Secretary in the contract as a practice which would tend to defeat the purposes of the contract;

(v) to such additional provisions as the Secretary determines are desirable and includes in the contract to effectuate the purposes of the program or to facilitate the practical administration of the program.

In return for such agreement by the landowner or operator the Secretary shall agree to share the cost of carrying out those conservation practices and measures set forth in the contract for which he determines that cost sharing is appropriate and in the public interest. The portion of such cost (including labor) to be shared shall be that part which the Secretary determines is necessary and appropriate to effectuate the physical installation of the conservation practices and measures under the contract;

(2)24 the Secretary may terminate any contract with a land owner or operator by mutual agreement with the owner or operator if the Secretary determines that such termination would be in the public interest, and may agree to such modification of contracts previously entered into as he may determine to be desirable to carry out the purposes of the program or facilitate the practical administration thereof or to accomplish equitable treatment with respect to other similar conservation, land use, or commodity programs administered by the Secretary;

(3)25

(4)25

*

(5) in applying the provisions of paragraph (6) of Public Law 74, Seventy-seventh Congress (7 U.S.C. 1340 (6)), relating to the reduction of storage amount of wheat, any acreage diverted from the production of wheat under the program carried out under this subsection shall be regarded as wheat acreage;

(6) the Secretary shall utilize the technical services of agencies of the Department of Agriculture in determining the scope and provisions of any plan and the acceptability of the plan for effectuating the purposes of the program. In addition the Secretary shall take into consideration programs of State and local agencies, including soil conservation districts, having for their purposes the objectives of maximum soil and water conservation;

(7)24 there is hereby authorized to be appropriated, without fiscal year limitations, such sums as may be necessary to carry out this subsection: Provided, That the total cost of the program (excluding administrative costs) shall not exceed $300,000,000, and for any program year payments shall not exceed $25,000,000. The funds made available for the program under this subsection may be expended without regard to the maximum payment limitation

25 Subsections (3) and (4) were repealed by P. L. 89-321, 79 Stat. 1208, November 3, 1965, except that all rights accruing thereunder to persons who entered into contracts or agreements prior to such repeal were preserved. For the text of the material repealed, see P. L. 86-793, 74 Stat. 1030, September 14, 1960.