§ 1350 — National Base Acreage Allotment

(a) The Secretary shall establish for each of the 1971 through 1977 crops of upland cotton a national base acreage allotment. Such national base acreage allotment shall be announced not later than November 15 of the calendar year preceding the year for which the national base acreage allotment is to be effective. The national base acreage allotment for any crop of cotton shall be the number of acres which the Secretary determines on the basis of the expected national yield will produce an amount of cotton equal to the estimated domestic consumption of cotton (standard bales of four hundred and eighty pounds net weight) for the marketing year beginning in the year in which the crop is to be produced, plus not to exceed 25 per centum thereof if the Secretary, taking into consideration other actions he may take under the Agricultural Act of 1970, determines that such additional amount is necessary to provide for a production which will equal the national cotton production goal, except that such national base acreage allotment shall be eleven million five hundred thousand acres for the 1971 crop and in the case of the 1972 through 1977 crops shall be in such amount as the Secretary determines necessary to maintain adequate supplies. The national base acreage allotment for the 1974 through 1977 crops shall not be less than eleven million acres. (b) The national base acreage allotment for each crop of upland cotton shall be apportioned by the Secretary to the States on the basis of the acreage planted (including acreage regarded as having been planted) to upland cotton within the farm acreage allotment or the farm base acreage allotment, whichever is in effect, during the five calendar years immediately preceding the calendar year in which the national cotton production goal is proclaimed, with adjustments for abnormal weather conditions or other natural disaster during such period. (c) The State base acreage allotment for each crop of upland cotton shall be apportioned to counties on the same basis as to years and conditions as is applicable to the State under subsection (b): Provided, That the State committee may reserve not to exceed 2 per centum of its State acreage allotment which shall be used to make adjustments in county allotments for trends in acreage, for counties adversely affected by abnormal conditions affecting plantings, or for small or new farms, or to correct inequities in farm allotments and to prevent hardships. (d) The Secretary shall adjust the apportionment base for each county as may be necessary because of transfers of allotments across county lines. (1) The county base acreage allotment for the 1971 crop shall be apportioned to old cotton farms in the county on the basis of the domestic acreage allotment established for the farm for the 1970 crop. For the 1972 and each subsequent crop of upland cotton the county base acreage allotment shall be apportioned to old cotton farms in the county on the basis of the farm base acreage allotment established for such farm for the preceding year. The county committee may reserve not in excess of 10 per centum of the county allotment which, in addition to the acreage made available under the proviso in subsection (c), shall be used for (A) establishing allotments for farms on which cotton was not planted (or regarded as planted) during any of the three calendar years immediately preceding the year for which the allotment is made, on the basis of land, labor, and equipment available for the production of cotton, crop-rotation practices, and the soil and other physical facilities affecting the production of cotton; and (B) making adjustments of the farm allotments established under this paragraph so as to establish allotments which are fair and reasonable in relation to the factors set forth in this paragraph and abnormal conditions of production on such farms, or in making adjustments in farm allotments to correct inequities and to prevent hardships. No part of such reserve shall be apportioned to a farm to reflect new cropland brought into production after November 30, 1970. (2) If for any crop the total acreage of cotton planted on a farm is less than the farm base acreage allotment, the farm base acreage allotment used as a base for the succeeding crop shall be reduced by the percentage by which such planted acreage was less than such farm base acreage allotment, but such reduction shall not exceed 20 per centum of the farm base acreage allotment for the preceding crop. If not less than 90 per centum of the base acreage allotment for the farm is planted to cotton, the farm shall be considered to have an acreage planted to cotton equal to 100 per centum of such allotment. For purposes of this paragraph, an acreage on the farm which the Secretary determines was not planted to cotton because of drought, flood, other natural disaster, or a condition beyond the control of the producer shall be considered to be an acreage planted to cotton. For the purpose of this paragraph, the Secretary shall, in the event producers of wheat or feed grains are permitted to do so, permit producers of cotton to have acreage devoted to soybeans, wheat, feed grains, guar, castor beans, triticale, oats, rye or such other crops as the Secretary may deem appropriate considered as devoted to the production of cotton to such extent and subject to such terms and conditions as the Secretary determines will not impair the effective operation of the cotton or soybean program. (3) If no acreage is planted to cotton for any three consecutive crop years on any farm which had a farm base acreage allotment for such years, such farm shall lose its base acreage allotment. (f) Effective for the 1971 through 1977 crops, any part of any farm base acreage allotment on which upland cotton will not be planted and which is voluntarily surrendered to the county committee shall be deducted from the farm base acreage allotment for such farm and may be reapportioned by the county committee to other farms in the same county receiving farm base acreage allotments in amounts determined by the county committee to be fair and reasonable on the basis of past acreage of upland cotton, land, labor, equipment available for the production of upland cotton, crop rotation practices, and soil and other physical facilities affecting the production of upland cotton. If all of the acreage voluntarily surrendered is not needed in the county, the county committee may surrender the excess acreage to the State committee to be used to make adjustments in farm base acreage allotments for other farms in the State adversely affected by abnormal conditions affecting plantings or to correct inequities or to prevent hardship. Any farm base acreage allotment released under this provision shall be regarded for the purpose of establishing future farm base acreage allotments as having been planted on the farm and in the county where the release was made rather than on the farm and in the county to which the allotment was transferred: Provided, That, notwithstanding any other provision of law, any part of any farm base acreage allotment for any crop year may be permanently released in writing to the county committee by the owner and operator of the farm and reapportioned as provided herein. Acreage released under this subsection shall be credited to the State in determining future allotments. (g) Any farm receiving any base acreage allotment through release and reapportionment or sale, lease, or transfer shall, as a condition to the right to receive such allotment, comply with the set-aside requirements of section 1444(e)(4) of this title applicable to such acreage as determined by the Secretary. (h) Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, if the Secretary determines for any year that because of drought, flood, other natural disaster, or a condition beyond the control of the producer a portion of the farm base acreage allotment in a county cannot be timely planted or replanted in such year, he may authorize for such year the transfer of all or a part of such cotton acreage for any farm in the county so affected to another farm in the county or in any other nearby county on which one or more of the producers on the farm from which the transfer is to be made will be engaged in the production of upland cotton and will share in the proceeds thereof, in accordance with such regulations as the Secretary may prescribe. Any farm base acreage allotment transferred under this subsection shall be regarded as planted to upland cotton on the farm and in the county and State from which transfer is made for purposes of establishing future farm, county and State allotments.