Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 84 Part 1.djvu/1428

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[84 STAT. 1370]
PUBLIC LAW 91-000—MMMM. DD, 1970
[84 STAT. 1370]

1370 Land diversion payments.

Lands, public use, additional payments.

Payment sharing.

52 Stat. 31; 78 Stat. 743. 16 USC 590h.

PUBLIC LAW 91-524-NOV. 30, 1970

[84 STAT.

"(2) To assist in adjusting the acreage of commodities to desirable goals, the Secretary may make land diversion payments, in addition to the payments authorized in subsection (b), to producers on a farm who, to the extent prescribed by the Secretary, devote to approved conservation uses an acreage of cropland on the farm in addition to that required to be so devoted under subsection (c)(1). The land diversion payments for a farm shall be at such rate or rates as the Secretary determines to be fair and reasonable taking into consideration the diversion undertaken by the producers and the productivity of the acreage diverted. The Secretary shall limit the total acreage to be diverted under agreements in any county or local community so as not to adversely affect the economy of the county or local community. "(3) The feed grain program formulated under this section shall require the producer to take such measures as the Secretary may deem appropriate to protect the set-aside acreage and the additional diverted acreage from erosion, insects, weeds, and rodents. Such acreage may be devoted to wildlife food plots or wildlife habitat in conformity with standards established by the Secretary in consultation with wildlife agencies. The Secretary may provide for an additional payment on such acreage in an amount determined by the Secretary to be appropriate in relation to the benefit to the general public if the producer agrees to permit, without other compensation, access to all or such portion of the farm as the Secretary may prescribe by the general public, for hunting, trapping, fishing, and hiking, subject to applicable State and Federal regulations. " (4) If the operator of the farm desires to participate in the program formulated under this section, he shall file his agreement to do so no later than such date as the Secretary may prescribe. Loans and purchases on feed grains included in the set-aside program and payments under this section shall be made available to producers on such farm only if the producers set aside and devote to approved soil conserving uses an acreage on the farm equal to the number of acres which the operator agrees to set aside and devote to approved soil conserving uses, and the agreement shall so provide. The Secretary may, by mutual agreement with the producer, terminate or modify any such agreement entered into pursuant to this subsection (c)(4) if he determines such action necessary because of an emergency created by drought or other disaster, or in order to prevent or alleviate a shortage in the supply of agricultural commodities. " (d) The Secretary shall provide for the sharing of payments under this section among producers on the farm on a fair and equitable basis. " (e)(1) For the purpose of this section, the feed grain base shall be the average acreage devoted on the farm to corn, grain sorghums and, if designated by the Secretary, barley in 1959 and 1960. "(2) The Secretary may make such adjustments in acreage under this section as he determines necessary to correct for abnormal factors affecting production, and to give due consideration to tillable acreage, crop-rotation practices, types of soil, soil and water conservation measures, and topography, and in addition, in the case of conserving use acreages to such other factors as he deems necessary in order to establish a fair and equitable conserving use acreage for the farm. The Secretary shall, upon the request of a majority of the State committee established pursuant to section 8(b) of the Soil Conservation and Domestic Allotment Act, as amended, adjust the feed grain bases for farms within any State or county in order to establish fair and equitable feed grain bases for farms within such State or county: Provided, That except for acreage provided for in subsection (b)(3),