§ 8712 — Payment Yields

(a) For the purpose of making direct payments and counter-cyclical payments under this subchapter, the Secretary shall provide for the establishment of a yield for each farm for any designated oilseed or eligible pulse crop for which a payment yield was not established under section 7912 of this title in accordance with this section. (1) In the case of designated oilseeds and eligible pulse crops, the Secretary shall determine the average yield per planted acre for the designated oilseed or pulse crop on a farm for the 1998 through 2001 crop years, excluding any crop year in which the acreage planted to the designated oilseed or pulse crop was zero. (A) The payment yield for a farm for a designated oilseed or eligible pulse crop shall be equal to the product of the following: (i) The average yield for the designated oilseed or pulse crop determined under paragraph (1). (ii) The ratio resulting from dividing the national average yield for the designated oilseed or pulse crop for the 1981 through 1985 crops by the national average yield for the designated oilseed or pulse crop for the 1998 through 2001 crops. (B) To the extent that national average yield information for a designated oilseed or pulse crop is not available, the Secretary shall use such information as the Secretary determines to be fair and equitable to establish a national average yield under this section. (3) If the yield per planted acre for a crop of a designated oilseed or pulse crop for a farm for any of the 1998 through 2001 crop years was less than 75 percent of the county yield for that designated oilseed or pulse crop, the Secretary shall assign a yield for that crop year equal to 75 percent of the county yield for the purpose of determining the average under paragraph (1). (4) In the case of establishing yields for designated oilseeds and eligible pulse crops, if historic yield data is not available, the Secretary shall use the ratio for dry peas calculated under paragraph (2)(A)(ii) in determining the yields for designated oilseeds and eligible pulse crops, as determined to be fair and equitable by the Secretary.