APPORTIONMENT OF NATIONAL ACREAGE ALLOTMENT

[SEC. 353 is inapplicable through the 1981 crop of rice.] SEC. 353.96h (a) The national acreage allotment of rice for each calendar year, less a reserve of not to exceed 1 per centum thereof for apportionment by the Secretary as provided in this subsection shall be apportioned by the Secretary among the several States in which rice is produced in proportion to the average number of acres of rice in each State during the five-year period immediately preced ing the calendar year for which such national allotment of rice is determined (plus, in applicable years, the acreage diverted unde previous agricultural adjustment and conservation programs) with adjustments for trends in acreage during the applicable period. Th Secretary shall provide for the apportionment of the reserve acreag set aside pursuant to this subsection to farms receiving allotment which are inadequate because of an insufficient State or county acre age allotment or because rice was not planted on the farm during al of the preceding five years. *** 97 (7 U.S.C. 1353 (a).)

(b) The State acreage allotment shall be apportioned to farm owned or operated by persons who have produced rice in the Stat in any one of the five calendar years immediately preceding the yea for which such apportionment is made on the basis of past production

98h Sections 353, 354, 355, 356, and 377 were made inapplicable to the 1976 and 197 crops of rice by Sec. 103 of the Rice Production Act of 1975, P.L. 94-214, 90 Stat. 18 Feb. 16, 1976, and to the 1978 through 1981 crops of rice by Sec. 703 of the Food an Agriculture Act of 1977, P.L. 95-113, 91 Stat. 943, Sept. 29, 1977.

97 A proviso which applied only to the 1950 crop of rice has been omitted.

ducer or producers who have had previous rice-producing experience, provided the following conditions are met: (i) The transferee must acquire, except for land, the entire farming operation pertaining to rice, including all production and harvesting equipment, any irrigation equipment not permanently attached to the land; and (ii) the transferee must actually plant at least 90 per centum of his total producer rice acreage allotment, including the allotment determined on the basis of the rice history acreage acquired from the transferor for at least three out of the next four years following the transfer. Failure by the transferee to comply with condition (ii) above shall result in cancellation of the transfer of the rice history acreage. The transferor of rice acreage history under this subsection shall not be eligible for a producer rice acreage allotment for any year subsequent to such transfer, except to the extent that such allotment may be based on rice history acquired in a year (subsequent to the transfer) for which rice acreage allotments are not in effect.

(4) Upon dissolution of a partnership in a State in which farm rice acreage allotments are determined on the basis of past production of rice by the producer on the farm, the partnership's history of rice production shall be divided among the partners in such proportion as agreed upon in writing by the partners: Provided, That if a partnership was formed in a year in which allotments were in effect and is dissolved in less than three consecutive crop years after the partnership became effective, the rice acreage allotment established for the partnership and rice history acreages credited to the partnership for each of the years during its existence shall be divided among the partners in the same proportion that each partner contributed to the allotment established for the partnership at the time such partnership was formed. The rice history acreage credited to each of the partners for the years prior to the time the partnership was formed shall revert to the person to whom it was originally credited. (7 U.S.C. 1353 (f).)

(g) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, if the Secrery determines for 1973 that because of a natural disaster a portion the farm rice acreage allotments in a county cannot be timely anted or replanted in such year, he may authorize for such year e transfer of all or a part of the rice acreage allotment for any rm in the county so affected to another farm in the county or in an djoining county on which one or more of the producers on the farm om which the transfer is to be made will be engaged in the producon of rice and will share in the proceeds thereof, in accordance with ich regulations as the Secretary may prescribe. Any farm allotment ansferred under this subsection shall be deemed to be released acree for the purpose of acreage history credits under subsection (e) this section and section 377 of this Act: Provided, That, notwithanding the provisions of subsection (e) of this section, the transfer any farm allotment under this subsection shall operate to make e farm from which the allotment was transferred eligible for an

allotment as having rice planted thereon during the five-year ba period. 99a

MARKETING QUOTAS

[SEC. 354 is inapplicable through the 1981 crop of rice.]

SEC. 354.99b (a) Whenever in any calendar year the Secretary dete mines that the total supply of rice for the marketing year beginni in such calendar year will exceed the normal supply for such mar eting year, the Secretary shall not later than December 31 of su calendar year, proclaim such fact and marketing quotas shall be effect for the crop of rice produced in the next calendar year. U.S.C. 1354 (a).)

(b) Within thirty days after the date of the issuance of the pr lamation specified in subsection (a) of this section, the Secreta shall conduct a referendum by secret ballot of farmers engaged the production of the immediately preceding crop of rice to dete mine whether such farmers are in favor of or opposed to such quot If more than one-third of the farmers voting in the referendu oppose such quotas the Secretary shall, prior to the 15th day February, proclaim the result of the referendum and such quot shall become ineffective. (7 U.S.C. 1354 (b).)

AMOUNT OF FARM MARKETING QUOTA

[SEC. 355 is inapplicable through the 1981 crop of rice.] SEC. 355.99 The farm marketing quota for any crop of rice shall the actual production of rice on the farm less the normal producti of the acreage planted to rice on the farm in excess of the far acreage allotment. The normal production from such excess acrea shall be known as the "farm marketing excess": Provided, That t farm marketing excess shall not be larger than the amount by whi the actual production of rice on the farm exceeds the normal produ tion of the farm acreage allotment if the producer establishes su actual production to the satisfaction of the Secretary. (7 U.S. 1355.)

99a Subsection (g) was added by P.L. 93-27, 87 Stat. 27, April 27, 1973.

90b See footnote 96h. 99c See footnote 96h.

PENALTIES AND STORAGE

[SEC. 356 is inapplicable through the 1981 crop of rice.]

SEC. 356.99d (a) Whenever farm marketing quotas are in effect with respect to any crop of rice the producer shall be subject to a penalty on the farm marketing excess at a rate per pound equal to 50 per centum of the parity price per pound for rice as of June 15 of the calendar year in which such crop is produced. Effective beginning with the 1958 crop, the rate of penalty on rice shall be 65 per centum of the parity price per pound for rice as of June 15 of the calendar year in which the crop is produced. (7 U.S.C. 1356 (a).)

(b) The farm marketing excess of rice shall be regarded as available for marketing and the amount of penalty shall be computed upon the normal production of the acreage on the farm planted to rice in excess of the farm acreage allotment. If a downward adjustment in the amount of the farm marketing excess is made pursuant to the proviso in section 355, the difference between the amount of the penalty computed upon the farm marketing excess before such adjustment and as computed upon the adjusted marketing excess shall be returned to or allowed the producer. (7 U.S.C. 1356 (b).)

(c) The person liable for payment or collection of the penalty shall be liable also for interest thereon at the rate of 6 per centum per annum from the date the penalty becomes due until the date of payment of such penalty. (7 U.S.C. 1356 (c).)

(d) Until the penalty on the farm marketing excess is paid, postponed, or avoided, as provided herein, all rice produced on the farm and marketed by the producer shall be subject to the penalty provided by this section and a lien on the entire crop of rice produced on the farm shall be in effect in favor of the United States. (7 U.S.C. 1356(d).)

(e) The penalty on the farm marketing excess on any crop of rice may be avoided or postponed by storage or by disposing of the commodity in such other manner, not inconsistent with the purposes of this Act, as the Secretary shall prescribe, including, in the discretion of the Secretary, delivery to Commodity Credit Corporation or any other agency within the Department. The Secretary shall issue regula

99d See footnote 96h.

tions governing such storage or other disposition. Unless otherwise specified by the Secretary in such regulations, any quantity of rice so stored or otherwise disposed of shall be of those types and grades which are representative of the entire quantity of rice produced on the farm Upon failure so to store or otherwise dispose of the farm marketing excess of rice within such time as may be determined under regulations prescribed by the Secretary, the penalty on such excess shall become due and payable. Any rice delivered to any agency of the Department pursuant to this subsection shall become the property of the agency to which delivered and shall be disposed of at the direction of the Secretary in a manner not inconsistent with the purposes of this Act. If the farm marketing excess of rice determined for any farm is delivered to Commodity Credit Corporation or any other agency within the Department, in accordance with regulations prescribed by the Secre tary, such farm shall be considered to be in compliance with the rice acreage allotment for such year. 100 (7 U.S.C. 1356 (e).)

(f) Subject to the provisions of subsection (g) of this section, the penalty upon the farm marketing excess stored pursuant to this section shall be paid by the producer at the time and to the extent of any depletion in the amount so stored except depletion resulting from some cause beyond the control of the producer or from substitution of the commodity authorized by the Secretary. (7 U.S.C. 1356 (f).)

(g) (1) If the planted acreage of the then current crop of rice for any farm is less than the farm acreage allotment, the amount of the commodity from any previous crop of rice stored to postpone or avoid payment of the penalty shall be reduced by an amount equal to the normal production of the number of acres by which the farm acreage allotment exceeds the acreage planted to

rice.

(2) If the actual production of the acreage of rice on any farm on which the acreage of rice is within the farm acreage allotment is less than the normal production of the farm acreage allotment. the amount of rice from any previous crop stored to postpone or avoid payment of the penalty shall be reduced by an amount which, together with the actual production of the then current crop will equal the normal production of the farm acreage allotment: Provided, That the reduction under this paragraph shall not exceed the amount by which the normal production of the farm acreage allotment less any reduction made under paragraph (1) of this subsection is in excess of the actual production of the acreage planted to rice on the farm. (7 U.S.C. 1356 (g).)

(h) Whenever, in any marketing year, marketing quotas are not in effect with respect to the crop of rice produced in the calendar year in which such marketing year begins, all marketing quotas applicable to previous crops of rice shall be terminated, effective as of the first day of such marketing year. Such termination shall not abate any penalty previously incurred by a producer or relieve any buyer of the duty to remit penalties previously collected by him. (7 U.S.C. 1356(h).)

100 The final sentence of subsection (e) of section 356 was added by Pub. L. 90-191, 81 Stat. 578, approved December 14, 1967.