crease on the other tract and all conserving base adjustments must be compensating.

(i) Divided history acreage and other data. The history acreage and other basic data, except commodity yields and minimum allotments, for divided farms shall be determined by using the same percentage figure as was used to apportion the allotment or base crop for the respective commodity. For commodity yields and minimum allotments applicable commodity regulations shall apply.

[36 F.R. 11271, June 11, 1971, as amended by Amdt. 1, 37 F.R. 5482, Mar. 16, 1972] § 719.9 Rules for determining_farm bases, farm allotments, and history acreages where reconstitution is by combination.

If two or more farms or tracts are combined for the current year, the current year's allotments, farm bases, history acreages, planted acreages, and acreages considered planted for the years in the base period for the respective commodities for the reconstituted farm shall be the sum of the allotments, farm bases, history acreages, planted acreages, and acreages considered planted for each of the tracts comprising the combination, subject to the provisions of § 719.7 (c).

§ 719.10 Preservation of cropland and allotment acreage.

(a) Definitions. Notwithstanding the definitions in § 719.2, for the purposes of this section, the following terms shall have the following meanings:

(1) Final acreage. The actual crop acreage, plus any additional acreage considered planted to the crop under applicable commodity regulations.

(2) Underplanted acreage. The acreage by which the allotment or feed grain base for a commodity exceeds the final acreage of the commodity.

(b) Preservation of cropland and acreage available for diversion credit(1) CAP, CCP, CRP, GPCP, and RCP. Cropland acreage established and maintained in vegetative cover under the Cropland Adjustment Program, Cropland Conversion Program, Conservation Reserve Program, Great Plains Conservation Program, and Regional Conservation Program, shall retain its cropland classification for the period of time the contract or agreement is in effect plus the period of time thereafter that the

cover is maintained. Cropland acreage established in trees under one of the programs listed in this section shall retain its cropland classification for the period of time the contract or agreement is in effect plus an equal period thereafter provided the practice is maintained. All acreage under this subparagraph shall be available for diversion credit to the extent of the underplanted acreage of an allotment or feed grain base crop where needed to protect the history for such crop.

(2) REAP-ACP and comparable practices carried out without Federal cost-sharing. Cropland acreage established and maintained in vegetative cover (excluding trees) under the Rural Environmental Assistance Program, the Agricultural Conservation Program, or comparable practices carried out without Federal cost-sharing shall retain its cropland classification for the period of time that the cover is maintained. To qualify for diversion credit under this subparagraph (2), the following conditions shall be met:

(i) Acreage must be in excess of the sum of the conserving base and set-aside acreage requirements under other adjustment programs.

(ii) The practice must have been established after November 3, 1965, and carried out in accordance with good farming practices.

(iii) The producer must request preservation in the year in which the cover is established except that the county committee may accept a request in a later year if the producer establishes to the satisfaction of the county committee that the cover was established after November 3, 1965, and the request is made before December 31 of the year in which preservation credit is needed.

(c) Termination of diversion credit. Acreage shall cease to be available for diversion credit when:

(1) The permanent vegetation is destroyed or not properly maintained.

(2) The additional period of protection in the case of trees established under a conservation program listed in paragraph (b) of this section expires or the trees are destroyed.

(d) Diversion credit for divided farms. When a parent farm is reconstituted by division, future diversion credit shall accrue to the farm or tract on which the vegetative cover is physically located.

(e) Use of diversion credit. The diversion credit determined under the provi

sions of this section for each underplanted allotment or feed grain base crop shall be considered as acreage devoted to the crop and shall be utilized in the establishment of future State, county, and farm allotments and bases. Notwithstanding any other provisions of this part, this section shall not be applicable with respect to a crop for which there is participation in the set aside program for wheat, feed grains, or upland cotton authorized by the Agricultural Act of 1970 and payments are earned for such participation. § 719.11

Eminent domain acquisitions.

(a) Commodities covered. This section provides a uniform method for handling farm allotments for extra long staple cotton, upland cotton, peanuts, rice in farm States, tobacco and wheat; and feed grain bases for corn, grain sorghums and barley; on land involved in an eminent domain acquisition. If eligible for pooling under this section, such allotments and bases are pooled for the benefit of the owner who is displaced from his farm by an eminent domain acquisition. Such pooling is for a 3-year period from the date of displacement and during such period the owner so displaced may request transfers of allotments and bases from the pool to other farms in the United States owned by him. This section does not apply in the case of extra long staple cotton, upland cotton, peanuts, and tobacco to any farm from which the owner was displaced prior to 1950; in the case of wheat to any farm from which the owner was displaced prior to 1954; in the case of rice to any farm from which the owner was displaced prior to 1955; and in the case of feed grains to any farm from which the owner was displaced prior to 1961.

(b) Eminent domain acquisition. An eminent domain acquisition is a taking of title to land, or the taking of an impoundment easement to impound water on the land, or the taking of a flowage easement to intermittently flood the land, consummated with respect to land which is, or could be, so taken under the power of eminent domain by a Federal, State, or other agency. Such acquisition may be by court proceedings to condemn the land or by negotiation between the agency and the owner. Any acquisition by an agency with respect to land not subject to the agency's power of eminent domain shall not be an eminent domain

acquisition for purposes of this section. All land acquired by an agency for the intended project, including surrounding land not needed for the project but acquired as a package acquisition, shall be considered to be in the eminent domain acquisition if the agency expended funds for the package acquisition on the basis of its power of eminent domain. For example, a governmental agency acquires 150 acres of land from an owner as a package acquisition and requires 130 acres for the public purpose but supports the expenditure of funds for the unneeded 20 acres on the grounds that no additional cost resulted, or that avoidance of condemnation proceedings warranted the package acquisition.

(c) Owner. For purposes of this section, owner means the person, or persons in a joint ownership, having title to the land for a period of at least 12 months immediately prior to the date of transfer of title or grant of impoundment or flowage easement under the eminent domain acquisition. If such person or persons have owned the land for less than such 12-month period, they may, nevertheless, be considered the owner if the State committee determines that such person or persons acquired the land for the purpose of carrying out farming operations and not for the purpose of obtaining status as an owner under this section. However, no person shall be considered the owner if he acquired the land subject to an eminent domain acquisition under an outstanding contract to an agency or an option by an agency or subject to pending condemnation proceedings. In any case where the current title holder cannot be considered the owner for the purposes of this section, the State committee shall determine the person or persons who previously had title to the land and who qualify for status as the owner under the criteria in this paragraph.

(d) Displacement. The owner shall be considered displaced from a farm covered by an eminent domain acquisition on the date (1) the right to produce an allotment or feed grain crop is relinquished voluntarily even though the owner is not required to give up possession of the land; or (2) in the case of a flowage easement the owner determines it is no longer practical to conduct farming operations on the land; or (3) the owner loses possession of the land as owner or as lessee under a lease from the agency or its designee if the lease provided unbroken

possession to the owner from the date of acquisition to the end of the lease or extensions of the lease. In cases where the agency and the owner have executed a binding contract for acquisition of the farm, the owner may be considered displaced prior to completion of the acquisition if he wishes to plant the commodity on other land he owns or buys.

(e) Notice of displacement. The owner shall notify the county committee in writing of the eminent domain acquisition and furnish the date of displacement as soon as possible so that the allotments and bases may be pooled in accordance with this section. Failure to so notify the county committee shall not operate to extend the 3-year period of the pool.

(f) Pool. Whenever the county committee determines, by notice from the owner or otherwise, than an owner has been displaced, the county committee shall establish in a pool for a 3-year period, beginning on the date of displacement, the allotments and bases eligible for pooling under this section. Pooled allotments and bases shall be considered fully planted and for each year in the pool, shall be established in accordance with applicable commodity regulations.

(g) Cases where pooling not permitted or required—(1) Agency has authority to continue crop production. Pooling shall not be permitted if the agency files written notice with the county committee within 30 days after the date of acquisition designating the crops it intends to continue producing and the county committee determines that the agency has the authority under its power of eminent domain to make the acquisition solely for the purpose of continued crop production. An agency intention to continue crop production after the date of displacement as an interim revenue producing operation cannot form the basis for retention of allotments and bases on the acquired farm unless it has power of eminent domain to acquire land solely for continued crop production. In general, agencies with such power are limited to experiment stations and educational institutions with vocational agricultural training programs.

(2) Owner waives right to have pooling. If the owner files written notice with the county committee of intention to waive his right to have all the allotments and bases, or any part thereof, pooled and the county committee determines

that the owner fully understands his right to have allotments and bases pooled and has not been coerced to waive his right, the allotments and bases shall be retained on the agency acquired land.

(3) Less than 15 percent of cropland acquired. If an agency acquires part of a farm for nonfarming purposes and the cropland on the land so acquired represents less than 15 percent of the total cropland on the farm, the allotments and bases shall be retained on the portion of the farm not acquired by the agency and shall not be pooled.

(4) 15 percent or more of cropland acquired. If an agency acquires part of a farm for nonfarming purposes and the cropland on the land so acquired represents 15 percent or more of the total cropland on the farm, the allotments and bases attributable to the acquired land shall be retained on the portion of the farm not acquired by an agency if the owner files a written request with the county committee for such retention. However, only such amounts of allotments and bases may be retained as can be supported on the available cropland, taking into consideration the land, labor, and equipment available for the production of the commodity, crop rotation practices, and the soil and other physical factors affecting the production of the commodity. Allotments and bases not retained shall be pooled.

(5) In-county transfer upon displacement. If, prior to pooling, an owner files a request to transfer the allotments and bases to other farms which he owns in the same county, the county committee may approve a direct transfer without formal establishment in the pool. Such transfer shall be subject to the requirements of paragraph (j) of this section.

(h) Release of pooled allotments. Pooled allotments, but not feed grain bases, may be released on an annual basis by the owner to the county committee during any year for which the allotments are pooled and not otherwise transferred from the pool. The county committee may reapportion such released allotments to other farms in the same county having allotments for such commodity. Pooled allotments shall not be released on a permanent basis or surrendered after release to the State committee for reapportionment in other counties. Reapportionment shall be on the basis of past acreage of the commodity, land, labor, and equipment available for the production of the com

modity, crop rotation practices and soil and other physical facilities affecting the production of the commodity. Released pooled allotment shall be regarded as fully planted in the pool and not on the farm receiving reapportionment. This paragraph shall govern the release and reapportionment of pooled allotments notwithstanding other procedures contained in applicable commodity regulations.

(i) Sale, lease, and owner transfers. Pooled allotments for which there is statutory authority implemented in the applicable commodity regulations for transfer of allotments on a permanent or temporary basis by sale, lease, or by owner (within the meaning of owner for such purposes) may be transferred permanently from the pool by the owner or temporarily for the life of the pooled allotment, subject to the terms and conditions in the applicable commodity regulations for such transfers.

(j) Regular transfers from pool—(1) General rule. The owner may request transfer of all or part of the pooled allotments and bases to any farm in the United States of which he is the bona fide owner: Provided, That there are farms in the receiving county with allotments or bases for the particular commodity, or if there are no such farms, the county committee determines that farms in the receiving county are suitable for the production of the commodity. For purposes of this paragraph:

(i) Receiving farm means the farm to which transfer from the pool is to be made;

(ii) Receiving State and county committees mean those committees for the State and county in which the receiving farm is located; and

(iii) Transferring State and county committees mean those committees for the State and county in which the agency acquired farm is located.

(2) Application for transfer. The owner shall file with the receiving county committee written application for transfer of allotment and feed grain base from the pool within 3 years after the date of displacement. The application shall contain a certification by the owner that he has made no side agreement with any person for the purpose of obtaining an allotment or feed grain base from the pool, for a person other than himself. The owner shall attach to the application all pertinent documents pertaining to his ownership or purchase of

land and any leasing arrangements as for example, the deed of trust or mortgage, warranty deed, note, sales agreement, and lease.

(3) Action by receiving county committee. The receiving county committee shall consider each application and determine whether the transfer from the pool shall be approved. Before an application is acted upon by the receiving county committee, the owner shall personally appear before the receiving county committee after reasonable notice, bring any additional pertinent documents as may be requested for examination by the receiving county committee, and answer all pertinent questions bearing on the proposed transfer: Provided, That the personal appearance requirement may be waived if the receiving county committee determines from facts presented to it on behalf of the owner that such personal appearance would unduly inconvenience the owner on account of illness or other good cause and such personal appearance would serve no useful purpose. Any action by the receiving county committee shall be subject to the approval required under subparagraph (5) of this paragraph.

(4) Elements of bona fide ownership. The receiving county committee shall approve the transfer from the pool only where the documents and other evidence presented by the owner show conclusively that the owner has made a normal acquisition of the receiving farm for the purpose of bona fide ownership to reestablish his farming operations. The elements of such an acquisition shall include, but are not limited to, the following conditions:

(i) Appropriate legal documents must establish title to the receiving farm;

(ii) If the owner was the operator of the acquired farm at the date of displacement, such owner shall personally operate and be the operator of the receiving farm for the first year that allotment or feed grain base is transferred;

(iii) If the owner was not the operator of the acquired farm at the date of displacement and he was not a producer because the leasing or rental agreement provided for cash, fixed rent, or standing-rent payment, such owner shall not be required to personally operate and be the operator of the receiving farm but at least 75 percent of the allotment or feed grain base for the receiving farm

shall be planted on the receiving farm for the first year;

(iv) If the owner was not the operator of the acquired farm at the date of displacement but he was a producer on the acquired farm at the date of displacement by virtue of receiving a share of the crops produced on the acquired farm, such owner shall not be required to be the operator of the receiving farm but he shall be a producer on the receiving farm the first year that an allotment or feed grain base is transferred;

(v) The contractual arrangements between the owner and the seller of the receiving farm shall not contain a requirement that the receiving farm be leased to the seller or a person designated by or subject to the control of the seller nor shall the seller or a person designated by or subject to the control of the seller lease the receiving farm for the first year the allotment or feed grain base is transferred even though such contractual arrangements are silent as to any lease; and

(vi) Contractual arrangements under which the receiving farm was purchased or leased are customary in the community where the receiving farm is located with respect to purchase price, size of payments due, time when payments are due, and size of rental payments, if any.

(5) Action of receiving State committee. The approval of a transfer from the pool under this paragraph by the receiving county committee shall be effective upon concurrence by the receiving State committee. Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, the receiving State committee may authorize a transfer from the pool in any case where the owner presents evidence satisfactory to the receiving State committee that the eligibility requirements of subparagraph (4) (ii), (iii), or (iv) of this paragraph cannot be met without creating a hardship because of illness, old age, multiple farm ownership, or lack of a dwelling on the farm to which allotment or feed grain base is to be transferred. Notwithstanding any other provisions of this section and particularly subparagraph (4)(v) of this paragraph, the receiving State committee may authorize a transfer from the pool in any case where the owner presents evidence satisfactory to the receiving State committee that the owner has made a normal acquisition of the receiving farm for the purpose of bona fide ownership to reestablish his farming op

erations although the farm is leased to the seller of the farm for the first year the allotment is transferred.

(6) Amount of allotment or feed grain base available for transfer. Upon completion of all necessary approvals under this paragraph, the receiving county commitee shall issue an appropriate allotment or feed grain base notice under the applicable commodity regulations, taking into consideration the land, labor, and equipment available for the production of the commodity, crop rotation practices, and the soil and other physical factors affecting the production of the commodity. For purposes of determining such amount, the receiving county committee shall consider the receiving tract as a separate farm when such tract is in combination with land under separate ownership. The acreage transferred from the pool shall not exceed the allotment or feed grain base most recently established for the acquired farm and placed in the pool. When all or a part of the allotment or feed grain base placed in the pool is transferred and used to establish or increase the allotment or feed grain base for other farms owned or purchased by the owner, all or the proportionate part of the past acreage history for the acquired farm shall be transferred to and considered for purposes of future allotments or feed grain bases to have been planted on the receiving farm for which an allotment or feed grain base is established or increased under this section. If only a part of the available allotment or feed grain base is transferred from the pool, the remaining part of the allotment and feed grain base and past acreage history shall remain in the pool for transfer to other farms of the owner until all such allotment or feed grain base acreage has been transferred or until the period of eligibility for establishing or increasing allotments or feed grain bases under this section has expired.

(7) Cancellation of transfers. If any allotment or feed grain base is transferred under this paragraph and it is later determined by the receiving county or State committee, or the Deputy Administrator, that the transfer was obtained by misrepresentation by or on behalf of the owner, or the conditions applicable under subparagraph (4) of this paragraph are not met, the allotment or feed grain base for the receiving farm shall be reduced for each year the transfer purportedly was in effect by