PART VI-MARKETING QUOTAS-PEANUTS

LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS

SEC. 357. The production, marketing, and processing of peanuts and peanut products employs a large number of persons and is of national interest. The movement of peanuts from producer to consumer is preponderantly in interstate and foreign commerce, and, owing to causes beyond their control, the farmers producing such commodity and the persons engaged in the marketing and processing thereof are unable to regulate effectively the orderly marketing of the commodity. As the quantity of peanuts marketed in the channels of interstate and foreign commerce increases above the quantity of peanuts needed for cleaning and shelling, the prices at which all peanuts are marketed are depressed to low levels. These low prices tend to cause the quantity of peanuts available for marketing in later years to be less than normal, which in turn tends to cause relatively high prices. This fluctuation of prices and marketings of peanuts creates an unstable and chaotic condition in the marketing of peanuts for cleaning and shelling and for crushing for oil in the channels of interstate and foreign commerce. Since these unstable and chaotic conditions have existed for a period of years and are likely, without proper regulation, to continue to exist, it is imperative that the marketing of peanuts for cleaning and shelling and for crushing for oil in interstate and foreign commerce be regulated in order to protect producers, handlers, processors, and consumers. (7 U.S.C. 1357.)

MARKETING QUOTAS

SEC. 358.100a (a) Between July 1 and December 1 of each calendar year the Secretary shall proclaim the amount of the national marketing quota for peanuts for the crop produced in the next succeeding calendar year in terms of the total quantity of peanuts which will make available for marketing a supply of peanuts from the crop with respect to which the quota is proclaimed equal to the average quantity of peanuts harvested for nuts during the five years immediately preceding the year in which such quota is proclaimed, adjusted for current trends and prospective demand conditions, and the quota so proclaimed shall be in effect with respect to such crop. The national marketing quota for peanuts for any year shall be converted to a national acreage allotment by dividing such quota by the normal vield per acre of peanuts for the United States determined by the Secretary on the basis of the average yield per acre of peanuts in the five years preceding the year in which the quota is proclaimed, with such adjustments as may be found necessary to correct for trends in yields and for abnormal conditions of production affecting yields in such five years: 101 Provided, That the national marketing quota established for the crop produced in the calendar year 1941 shall be a

100 Subsection (a) was made inapplicable to the 1978-81 crops of peanuts by Sec. 801 of the Food and Agriculture Act of 1977, P.L. 95-113, 91 Stat. 944, Sept. 29, 1977. 101 National acreage allotment of 1,610,000 acres for 1941 proclaimed in 6 F.R. 1810, Apr. 8. 1941, thereby established 1,610,000 acre minimum for 1942 and succeeding crops.

quantity of peanuts sufficient to provide a national acreage allotment of not less than one million six hundred and ten thousand acres, and that the national marketing quota established for any subsequent year shall be quantity of peanuts sufficient to provide a national acreage allotment of not less than that established for the crop produced in the calendar year 1941. (7 U.S.C. 1358 (a).)

(b) Not later than December 15 of each calendar year the Secretary shall conduct a referendum of farmers engaged in the production of peanuts in the calendar year in which the referendum is held to determine whether such farmers are in favor of or opposed to marketing quotas with respect to the crops of peanuts produced in the three calendar years immediately following the year in which the referendum is held, except that, if as many as two-thirds of the farmers voting in any referendum vote in favor of marketing quotas, no referendum shall be held with respect to quotas for the second and third years of the period. The Secretary shall proclaim the results of the referendum within thirty days after the date on which it is held, and, if more than one-third of the farmers voting in the referendum vote against marketing quotas, the Secretary also shall proclaim that marketing quotas will not be in effect with respect to the crop of peanuts produced in the calendar year immediately following the calendar year in which the referendum is held. (7 U.S.C. 1358 (b).)

(c) (1) The national acreage allotment for 1951, less the acreage to be allotted to new farms under subsection (f) of this section, shall be apportioned among the States on the basis of the larger of the following for each State: (a) The acreage allotted to the State as its share of the 1950 national acreage allotment of two million one hundred thousand acres, or (b) the State's share of two million one hundred thousand acres apportioned to States on the basis of the average acreage harvested for nuts in each State in the five years 1945-49: Provided, That any allotment so determined for any State which is less than the 1951 State allotment announced by the Secretary prior to the enactment of this Act shall be increased to such announced allotment and the acreage required for such increases shall be in addition to the 1951 national acreage allotment and shall be considered in determining State acreage allotments in future years. For any year subsequent to 1951, the national acreage allotment for that year,102 shall be apportioned among the States on the basis of their share of the national acreage allotment for the most recent year in which such apportionment was made: Provided, That the peanut acreage allotment for the State of New Mexico shall not be reduced below the 1977 acreage allotment as increased pursuant to subsection (c) (2) of this section.102a

(2) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, if the Secretary of Agriculture determines, on the basis of the average yield

102 The words "less than acreage to be allotted to new farms under subsection (f) of this section" in the last sentence of subsection 358 (c) (1) were deleted by P.L. 92-62, 85 Stat. 163, Aug. 3, 1971.

102a The proviso was added by Sec. 801 of the Food and Agriculture Act of 1977. P.L. 95-113, 91 Stat. 944, Sept. 29, 1977, effective for the 1978 through 1981 crops of peanuts.

per acre of peanuts by types during the preceding five years, adjusted for trends in yields and abnormal conditions of production affecting yields in such five years, that the supply of any type or types of peanuts for any marketing year, beginning with the 1951-52 marketing year, will be insufficient to meet the estimated demand for cleaning and shelling purposes at prices at which the Commodity Credit Corporation may sell for such purposes peanuts owned or controlled by it, the State allotments for those States producing such type or types of peanuts shall be increased to the extent determined by the Secretary to be required to meet such demand but the allotment for any State may not be increased under this provision above the 1947 harvested acreage of peaunts for such State. The total increase so determined shall be apportioned among such States for distribution among farms producing peanuts of such type or types on the basis of the average acreage of peanuts of such type or types in the three years immediately preceding the year for which the allotments are being determined. The additional acreage so required shall be in addition to the national acreage allotment, the production from such acreage shall be in addition to the national marketing quota, and the increase in acreage allotted under this provision shall not be considered in establishing future State, county, or farm acreage allotments. (7 U.S.C. 1358 (c).)

(d) The Secretary shall provide for the apportionment of the State acreage allotment for any State, less the acreage to be allotted to new farms under subsection (f) of this section, through local committees among farms on which peanuts were grown in any of the three years immediately preceding the year for which such allotment is determined.103 The State acreage allotment for 1952 and any subsequent year shall be apportioned among farms on which peanuts were produced in any one of the 3 calendar years immediately preceding the year for which such apportionment is made, on the basis of the following: Past acreage of peanuts, taking into consideration the acreage allotments previously established for the farm; abnormal conditions affecting acreage; land, labor, and equipment available for the production of peanuts; crop-rotation practices; and soil and other physical factors affecting the production of peanuts. Any acreage of peanuts harvested in excess of the allotted acreage for any farm for any year shall not be considered in the establishment of the allotment for the farm in succeeding years. The amount of the marketing quota for each farm shall be the actual production of the farm-acreage allotment, and no peanuts shall be marketed under the quota for any farm other than peanuts actually produced on the farm. (7 U.S.C. 1358(d).)

(e) 103a Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this section, the Secretary may, if the State committee recommends such action and the Secretary determines that such action will facilitate the effective

The first sentence of subsection 358 (d) was amended by P.L. 92-62, 85 Stat. 164, Aug. 3, 1971. 108 Subsection (e) was made inapplicable to the 1978-81 crops of peanuts by Sec. 801 of the Food and Agriculture Act of 1977, P.L. 95-113, 91 Stat. 944, Sept. 29, 1977.

States and administrative areas, to producers on the basis of the rice allotments established for the 1975 crop as adjusted in accordance with subsection (c) of this section: Provided, That not to exceed 1 per centum of the national acreage allotment apportioned within each State may be reserved by the State committee for (1) apportionment to new rice farms and new rice producers on the basis of the following factors: suitability of the land for the production of rice, the extent to which the farm operator (or produced in the case of a producer allotment) is dependent on income from farming for his livelihood, the production of rice on other farms owned, operated. or controlled by such person, and such other factors as the State committee determines should be considered for the purpose of estab lishing fair and equitable rice allotments; (2) making adjustments in farm allotments to correct inequities or to prevent hardship; and (3) making corrections in farm or producer allotments.

(c) (1) If for any crop the total acreage planted to rice on a farm is less than the rice alloment for the farm (or in producer administrative areas, the producer allotments allocated to the farm), the farm or producer allotment used as a base for the succeeding crop shall be reduced by the percentage by which such planted acreage was less than the allotment for the farm, but such reduction shall not exceed 20 per centum of the farm or producer allotment for the preceding crop; except that if not less than 90 per centum of the farm acreage allotment is planted to rice, the farm shall be consid ered to have an acreage planted to rice equal to 100 per centum of such allotment. For purposes of this paragraph, an acreage on the farm which the Secretary determines was not planted to rice because of drought, flood, other natural disaster, or a condition beyond the control of the producer shall be considered to be an acreage planted to rice. For the purpose of this paragraph, the Secretary may permit producers of rice to have acreage devoted to soybeans, wheat, feed grains, sugar, castor beans, triticale, oats, cotton, rye, or such other crops as the Secretary may deem appropriate, considered as devoted to the production of rice to such extent and subject to such terms and conditions as the Secretary determines will not impair the effective operation of the rice program.

(2) If no acreage is planted (or regarded as planted) to rice for two consecutive crop years on any farm which had a farm acreage allotment for such years or for any producer which had a producer allotment for such years, such farm or producer shall lose it allotment.

(3) Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraphs (1) and (2) of this subsection, no farm or producer allotment shall be reduced o lost through failure to plant, if the cooperator elects not to receive payments for the portion of the farm or producer allotment no planted to which he would otherwise be entitled under the provisions of section 101 (g) of the Agricultural Act of 1949.

(d) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, if the Sec retary determines for any year that, because of drought, flood, othe natural disaster, or a condition beyond the control of the person

involved in the production of rice, none or only part of the acres of an allotment can be timely planted or replanted by or for such person in such year, the Secretary may authorize for such year the transfer of the total number of such acres which are so affected to another farm in the same or any nearby county, but within the same administrative area, on which one or more persons on the farm from which the transfer is made will be engaged in the production of rice and will share in the proceeds thereof, in accordance with such regulations as the Secretary may prescribe. Any allotment, or portion thereof, transferred under this subsection shall be regarded as planted to rice on the farm from which the transfer is made for purposes of establishing future farm allotments. For the purpose of determining the amount of payments and loans made under section 101(g) of the Agricultural Act of 1949 with regard to farms to which allotments, or portions thereof, are transferred under this subsection, the Secretary shall establish a farm yield for any such farm for which there is no established yield.

(e) (1) The Secretary shall permit the owner and operator of any farm for which a farm acreage allotment has been established to sell or lease all or any part, or the right to all or any part of such allotment, to any other owner or operator of a farm in the same administrative area, or to transfer all or any part of such allotment to any other farm owned or controlled by him in the same administrative area. The Secretary shall also permit the person for whom a producer allotment has been established to sell or lease all or any part of Such allotment to any other person in the same administrative area. (2) (A) If a producer in a State in which farm rice acreage allotnents are determined on the basis of past production of rice by the producer on the farm dies, his history of rice production shall be pportioned in the whole or in part among his heirs or devisees acording to the extent to which they may continue, or have continued. is farming operations, if satisfactory proof of such succession of 'arming operations is furnished the Secretary.

(B) Upon dissolution of a partnership in a State in which farm ice acreage allotments are determined on the basis of past producion of rice by the producer on the farm, the partnership's history of rice production shall be divided among the partners in such proortion as agreed upon in writing by the partners.

(C) Any part of the farm rice acreage allotment on which rice. ill not be planted and which is voluntarily surrendered to the ounty committee shall be deducted from the allotment to such farm nd may be reapportioned by the county committee to other farms the same county in amounts determined by the county committee > be fair and reasonable. Any allotment surrendered under this subaragraph shall be regarded for purposes of this subsection as havg been planted on the farm from which it was surrendered.

(f) Any acreage planted to rice in excess of the farm or producer creage allotment in the crop years 1976 through 1981 shall not be ken into account in establishing farm, or producer acreage allotents in any year following such period. (7 U.S.C. 1352.)