SEC. 10.7 The term "agricultural commodity" as used in this Act means any such commodity and any regional or market classification, type, or grade thereof.

SEC. 11.8 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 this Act: Provided, That the Secretary may prescribe that all or part of such estimated expenses of any 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.

SEC. 12.9 (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.

(b) 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 participating 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

7 16 U.S.C. 590j. Added by the Act of February 29, 1936, ch. 104, section 1, 49 Stat. 1150. 8 16 U.S.C. 590k.

such program shall be returned to the Secretary by the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation.

SEC. 13.10 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 purposes the provisions of law applicable to the appointment and compensation of persons employed by the Production and Marketing Administration shall apply.

SEC. 14.11 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.

SEC. 15.12 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 longterm 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.

SEC. 16.13 (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.

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GREAT PLAINS CONSERVATION PROGRAM

(b) Notwithstanding any other provision of law

(1)14 the Secretary is authorized, within the amounts of such appropriations as may be provided therefor, to enter into con

10 16 U.S.C. 590m.

11 16 U.S.C. 590n.

12 16 U.S 5900. Amended by the Food and Agriculture Act of 1977, section 1501, Public Law 95-113, by adding the last three sentences and deleting the second paragraph.

13 16 U.S.C. 590p.

14 Subsections (1), (2), and (7) were amended by Public Law 91-118, sections 1-3, 83 Stat. 194, 195. The third and fourth sentences of paragraph (1), beginning with "Such contracts may be entered into. . ." were reworded by Public Law 96-263, section 1, 94 Stat. 438, and section 2 of the same Act amended subsection (7) by extending the Act from December 31, 1981, adding the reference to "soil, topographic, flood, saline, other natural hazards" and changing in the proviso the amounts authorized for appropriation from $300,000,000 to $600,000,000 and from $25,000,000 to $50,000,000.

18-137 0-83--23

tracts of not to exceed ten years with owners and operators of land in the 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 September 30, 1991, 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 or water erosion by reason of their soil types, terrain, and climatic, soil, topographic, flood, saline, other natural hazards, and other factors. The landowner or operator shall furnish to the Secretary a plan of farming operations 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, soil, topographic, flood, saline, and other natural 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

mendations 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)14 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)15 *

(4)15 *

* *

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(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 provision of any plan and the acceptability of the plan for

15 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.

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) 14 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 $600,000,000 and for any program year payments shall not exceed $50,000,000. The funds made available for the program under this subsection may be expended without regard to the maximum payment limitation and small payment increases required under section 8(e) of this Act, and may be distributed among States without regard to distribution of funds formulas of section 15 of this Act. The program authorized under this subsection shall be in addition to, and not in substitution of, other programs in such area authorized by this or any other Act.

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SEC. 17.16 (a) This Act shall apply to the States, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands, and, as used in this Act, the term "State" includes Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. (16 U.S.C. 590q(a).)

(b) This Act may be cited as the "Soil Conservation and Domestic Allotment Act."

16 16 U.S.C. 590q.