county summaries of ballots shall be summarized on the State summary of ballots as soon as possible, but in no event later than 7 calendar days after canvassing of the ballots, unless there is a dispute or challenge regarding the correctness of the summary for any county, in which case the State committee shall complete its investigation thereof, decide the dispute or challenge, and prepare the State summary accordingly within 14 calendar days after canvassing of the ballots. The State summary shall be prepared in triplicate and certified to by the State executive director. The original and one copy of the State summary shall be forwarded to the Director of the ASCS Division having the responsibility for the commodity for which the referendum was held. One copy of the State summary shall be filed for a period of 5 years in the office of State committee available for public inspection.

[Amdt. 1, 34 F.R. 12940, Aug. 9, 1969]

MISCELLANEOUS

§ 717.23 Applicability of this part to Puerto Rico.

The Caribbean Area Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Committee shall be in charge of and responsible for conducting in Puerto Rico each referendum required by the Act. Insofar as applicable, the Caribbean Area ASC Committee shall perform all the duties and assume all the responsibilities otherwise required of State and county committees as provided in this part, except that (1) the Director, Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Caribbean Area Office shall nominate for appointment by the Caribbean Area ASC Committee the members and alternates to serve on community referendum committees and shall establish the boundaries of referendum communities in such a manner that polling places therein will be conveniently located for the farmers eligible to vote in the referendum, and (2) following the canvass of the ballots, results of the referendum shall be reported to the Caribbean Area ASC Committee.

§ 717.24 Result of referendum.

(a) Proclamation of result. The final and official tabulation of the votes cast in the referendum shall be made by the Deputy Administrator and the result of the referendum will be publicly proclaimed and published in the FEDERAL REGISTER. The State summaries and re

lated papers shall be filed with such tabulation for a period of 5 years available for public inspection in the Department of Agriculture.

(b) Unofficial announcements of result. Each county committee is authorized to issue unofficial reports of the total "Yes" and "No" votes in its county to the press and the public. Each State committee is authorized to issue to the press and the public the unofficial result of the referendum in its State by counties as rapidly as the votes in e various counties are reported to it.

(c) Investigations. If the Deputy Administrator or the Secretary deems it necessary, the report of any community referendum committee, county committee, or State committee shall be reexamined and checked by such persons or agents as may be designated.

§ 717.25 Disposition of ballots and records.

The county committee shall seal the voted ballots, challenged ballots found to be ineligible, spoiled ballots, unopened certification envelopes, register sheets, and community summaries for the county in one or more envelopes or packages, plainly marked with the identification of the referendum, the date, and the names of the county and State, and place them under lock in a safe place under the custody of the county office manager for a period of 30 calendar days after the date of the referendum. If no notice to the contrary is received by the end of such time, the voted ballots, challenged ballots, spoiled ballots, and unopened certification envelopes shall be destroyed, but the registers and community and county summary sheets and the register of absentee ballots shall be filed for a period of 5 years in the office of the county committee.

§ 717.26 Applicability.

The regulations contained in this part shall be applicable to all referenda held pursuant to the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938, as amended.

The provisions of this part apply to compliance determinations for 1972 and subsequent years under any program administered by the Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service through State and county committees. The provisions of §§ 718.1 to 718.14 (36 F.R. 14302, 15423, 17485) are superseded. § 718.2 Definitions.

(a) General. As used in this part, and in all instructions, forms and documents issued in connection therewith, the words and phrases defined in Part 719 of this chapter shall have the meanings so assigned and the terms defined in paragraph (b) of this section shall have the meanings so assigned, unless the text or subject matter otherwise requires.

(b) Compliance terms. (1) Allotment crop: Any crop for which an acreage allotment (including a base acreage and domestic allotment), base, or proportionate share is established pursuant to regulations of the Department implementing Federal law.

(2) Director: Director or Acting Director, Program Performance Division, Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service, Department of Agriculture.

(3) Farmer certification: The determination of compliance with acreage allotments or other program requirements, by acceptance of the farm operator's certification in lieu of a farm visit.

(4) Normal row width: Distance between rows of crops in the field provided such distance is 32 inches or more.

(5) Reporter: Person employed to se

measurements to determine the acreages for which measurement is required.

(6) Certification date: The date by which a farm operator must designate set-aside acreage and report applicable program crop acreage.

(7) Failed acreage: An acreage of a crop which the county committee determines was planted and cared for in a workmanlike manner, but which was destroyed or abandoned for reasons beyond the control of the producer or any person under the direction of such producer.

(8) Prevented planting: An area which the county committee determines would have been planted to the applicable crop with the expectation of producing a normal crop for harvest, but which was not planted to such crop due to quarantine, payment limitation, or a natural disaster.

(9) Workmanlike manner: The carrying out of all operations normal to production of the crop in the area, including application of fertilizers, seeds, herbicides, insecticides, and pesticides in amounts and at intervals needed to assure a normal crop under normal conditions.

[37 F.R. 12921, June 30, 1972, as amended by Amdt. 1, 37 F.R. 20104, Sept. 26, 1972] § 718.3 Farm entry authority.

(a) General. Any authorized representative of the Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service shall have authority to enter any farm for the purpose of measuring or ascertaining acreage or determining compliance with any mandatory or voluntary_program administered by ASCS. For voluntary programs, application of the producer to participate in the program shall constitute his consent to the authority to enter the farm to measure or ascertain acreage or determine compliance. The person authorized to enter any farm shall present his written authorization upon request of any producer interested in the farm.

(b) Refusal to permit measurement. If a farm operator refuses to permit acreage measurement for any crop or program for which such measurements are required, the county executive director shall notify the farm operator in writing as soon as possible of the following consequences, as applicable, of the refusal to permit measurement and inspection on the farm:

(1) Program benefits will be denied; (2) For ELS cotton and rice, buyers in the vicinity will be notified that the farm is considered to be in excess of the allotment;

(3) For peanuts and tobacco (except Flue-cured tobacco when acreagepoundage quotas are in effect and burley when poundage quotas are in effect), a 100 percent excess penalty card will be issued;

(4) For Flue-cured tobacco when acreage-poundage quotas are in effect, no marketing card showing the farm is eligible for price support will be issued; and

(5) The farm operator shall have 14 days from the date of the written notice to notify the county office that he will permit measurement and pay the cost thereof.

If the farm operator fails to notify the county office that he will permit measurement, any case involving a crop subject to a marketing quota (except Flue-cured and Burley tobacco) shall be submitted to the State committee for referral to the applicable field representative of the Office of the General Counsel.

(c) Refusal to furnish information concerning other interested persons on the farm. If a farm operator refuses to furnish information concerning other interested persons on the farm, the farm operator may be denied program benefits until such information is furnished to the county committee.

(a) County committee. The county committee shall provide for determining acreages on farms and compliance with the various farm programs in accordance with this part.

(b) State committee. The State committee may:

(1) Take any action required of the county committee which the county committee fails to take.

(2) Correct or require the county committee to correct any action taken by such committee which is not in accordance with this part.

(3) Require the county committee to withhold taking any action which is not in accordance with this part.

(4) Upon approval by the Deputy Administrator, prescribe deviations from standards in § 718.7, § 718.12, or § 718.13

as applicable, for the State so as to establish:

(i) A minimum row width for specific crops of less than 32 inches;

(ii) A minimum area requirement for deduction or adjustment credit larger than 0.03 acre for tobacco or 0.1 acre for other crops and land uses;

(iii) A minimum width requirement for deduction or adjustment credit greater than 32 inches;

(iv) A minimum error requirement less than 0.5 acre for remeasurement refund. (v) A standard perimeter deduction of 3 percent of the area planted to a row crop and zero for a close-sown crop in lieu of measuring perimeter deductions on all farms visited in specified counties except that perimeter deductions shall be measured for those crops for which measurement service is provided. The State committee may recommend a different percentage when the 3 percent or zero deduction would cause undue hardship.

(c) Approved deviations from prescribed standards. The following deviations from prescribed standards pursuant to paragraph (b) of this section have been recommended by the State committee and approved by the Deputy Administrator:

ALABAMA

Minimum row width. Sixteen inches for peanuts.

ARIZONA

Standard deduction. Eight percent for row crops and zero for close-sown crops applies to Graham.

CALIFORNIA

(1) Deduction credit.—(i) Minimum area. Five-tenths acre for all crops.

(ii) Minimum width. (a) Perimeter of field, 10 links for all crops; (b) within the planted area:

(1) Row crops. Four rows except when planted in a skip-row pattern.

(2) Close-sown crops. Twenty links.

(2) Standard deduction. Three percent for row crops and zero for close-sown crops applies to Fresno, Imperial, Kern, Kings, Madera, Merced, Riverside, and Tulare.

COLORADO

Standard deduction. Three percent for row crops and zero for close-sown crops. DELAWARE

(1) Minimum row width. Thirty inches all crops.

(2) Deduction credit. Minimum width 6 links.

(3) Remeasurement refund. The larger of 3 percent or 0.5 acre.

(1) Deduction credit—(i) Minimum width. Ten links.

(2) Adjustment credit—(1) Minimum area. Total excess or deficiency or three-tenths (0.3) acre, whichever is smaller, except that if the excess or deficiency is more than threetenths (0.3) acre, one plot may be less than three-tenths (0.3) acre.

(ii) Minimum width. Two-tenths (0.2) chain.

(3) Standard deduction. Three percent for row crops and zero for close-sown crops applies to all counties except Forrest, Jefferson Davis, Jones, Marion, and Simpson.

MISSOURI

(1) Deduction credit—(1) Minimum width. Ten links.

ΜΟΝΤΑΝΑ

Minimum row width. Twenty-two inches for sugarbeets.

NEBRASKA

Minimum row width. Twenty-two inches for sugarbeets.

NEW HAMPSHIRE Minimum row width. Thirty inches for

corn.

NEW MEXICO

(1) Standard deduction.—(1) Row crops. Approved counties and percentage deductions are: (a) Zero percent in Curry, Union, and Communities A, B, E, F, G, and H in Quay;

(ii) Close-sown crops. The percentage deductions for the counties listed in (i) above shall be zero except that the percentage shall be 2.2 in Hardeman, 0.8 in Knox, and 0.5 in Wilbarger.

VIRGINIA

Remeasurement refund. The larger of 0.1 acre or 10 percent of acreage for areas less than 5 acres.

WASHINGTON

Minimum row width. Twenty-two inches for sugar beets.

WISCONSIN

(1) Deduction credit.-(1) Minimum width. Ten links for all crops except tobacco.

(2) Remeasurement refund. The larger of 0.1 acre or 3 percent for tobacco.

WYOMING

(1) Minimum row width. Twenty inches for sugar beets.

(2) Standard deduction. Three percent for row crops and zero for close-sown crops applies to all counties except Carbon, Park, and Weston.

[37 F.R. 12921, June 30, 1972, as amended by Amdt. 1, 37 F.R. 20104, Sept. 26, 1972] § 718.5 Measurement service.

(a) Staking and referencing service. The county committee shall provide a staking service for any crop or land use if the producer requests such service and pays the cost. If a staking and referencing service is found to be in error, and the producer has taken any action in reliance in good faith on such service, the acreage in the staked areas shall be considered to be the acreage for which the service was requested, except that the county committee may use the actual acreage if the producer would be adversely affected by use of the acreage for which the service is requested. Compliance with program requirements shall be guaranteed under the following conditions:

(1) For crops. The acreage requested to be staked and referenced shall not exceed the farm allotment for marketing quota crops or CAP permitted acreage. If all of the crop(s) for which the service is performed is within the staked area, the farm shall be considered in compliance with the allotment or permitted acreage.

(2) For set-aside acreage. If the producer requests that not less than the farm set-aside acreage requirement be staked and referenced and the entire area within the stakes is treated as set-aside acreage in accordance with program regulations, the farm shall be considered as

having sufficient designated set-aside acreage.

(b) Other measurement services. The county committee shall provide other measurement services if the producer requests such service and pays the cost. An acreage measured under this paragraph shall be considered an official acreage. A producer shall not be adversely affected by an error made by an ASCS employee in performing a measurement service when such producer has acted in reliance in good faith on such service.

§ 718.6 Determination of compliance by farmer certification.

(a) Certification by farm operator. A report of acreage and land use on farms shall be furnished to the county committee by the farm operator on a prescribed form for applicable crops and land uses not later than the applicable certification date in § 718.14, except that for:

(1) Set-aside acres. Farms enrolled in the wheat, feed grain, or cotton set-aside program shall designate and certify setaside acreage not later than the latest certification date in § 718.14 applicable to the farm, except that the State committee may recommend for approval by the Deputy Administrator that such designation and certification shall be not later than the earliest certification date applicable to the farm or county. The following exceptions have been recommended by the State committee and approved by the Deputy Administrator: ALABAMA

All counties. Earliest certification date applicable to the farm.

CALIFORNIA

(1) Imperial and Riverside. Earliest certification date applicable to the county.

(2) All other counties. Earliest certification date applicable to the farm.

DELAWARE

All counties. Earliest certification date applicable to the farm.

GEORGIA

All counties. Earliest certification date applicable to the farm.

NEW MEXICO

(1) All counties. Earliest certification date applicable to the county.

(2) Peanuts-(i) Initial certification. Certification shall be furnished not later than the latest certification date for feed grain in the county, unless a different date is recommended by the State committee and approved by the Deputy Ad