Continuation of Conservation Reserve Program, Including Transition Incentives Program, 32435-32436 [2014-13085]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
• Commodity Credit Corporation

[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 108 (Thursday, June 5, 2014)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 32435-32436]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-13085]



[[Page 32435]]

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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Commodity Credit Corporation

7 CFR Part 1410


Continuation of Conservation Reserve Program, Including 
Transition Incentives Program

AGENCY: Commodity Credit Corporation and Farm Service Agency, USDA.

ACTION: Extension of authorization.

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SUMMARY: The Agricultural Act of 2014 (the 2014 Farm Bill) extends the 
authorization of the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), a Commodity 
Credit Corporation (CCC) program administered by the Farm Service 
Agency (FSA), through September 30, 2018. This document announces to 
producers the continuation of CRP Continuous sign-up, with revised 
cropping history requirements as specified in the 2014 Farm Bill. This 
document also announces the opportunity for producers of certain CRP 
contracts to terminate the contract early (referred to as ``early-
outs''). The 2014 Farm Bill also continues, with modifications, the CRP 
Transition Incentives Program (TIP). In this document FSA also 
announces an opportunity for participants to extend eligible CRP 
contracts currently scheduled to expire on September 30, 2014, for one 
additional year. CRP, including TIP, will continue to be implemented 
under the existing regulations, except as specified in this document; 
this document will be followed by amendments to the applicable 
regulations to implement changes required by the 2014 Farm Bill after 
the completion of the appropriate National Environmental Policy Act 
(NEPA) analysis.

DATES: Effective Date: June 5, 2014.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Beverly J. Preston; telephone: (202) 
720-9563. Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for 
communication (Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact 
the USDA Target Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TDD).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Overview

    The 2014 Farm Bill (Pub. L. 113-79) authorizes the continuation of 
CRP, including TIP. In general, FSA will continue to implement CRP 
Continuous sign-up and TIP under the provisions of existing 
regulations, but this implementation will also include changes to the 
program required by the 2014 Farm Bill, such as a change in the 
cropping history required for eligibility. FSA, using its discretionary 
authority, will offer the opportunity for 1-year extensions to 
producers for certain existing contracts; FSA will also, as required by 
the 2014 Farm Bill, allow early outs for certain existing contracts. 
The 2014 Farm Bill reauthorized CRP through September 30, 2018.
    FSA is completing the appropriate NEPA (42 U.S.C. 4321-4347) 
analysis. FSA will update regulations, software, forms, and handbooks 
to implement all the changes required by the 2014 Farm Bill. FSA is 
also updating CRP Fact Sheets and will conduct extensive outreach to 
ensure that producers are aware of sign-up periods and application 
requirements. Details of sign-up periods and additional changes to CRP 
will be announced in separate press releases.

CRP Continuous Sign-up

    As specified in the 2014 Farm Bill and in the existing regulations, 
FSA offers CRP continuous sign-up for environmentally sensitive land 
that is devoted to high priority conservation practices. Continuous 
sign-up will continue as specified in the existing regulations in 7 CFR 
part 1410, but will reflect a change to the cropping history 
requirement as specified in the 2014 Farm Bill.
    In general, for cropland to be eligible for enrollment in CRP a 
cropping history for such cropland is required. The 2014 Farm Bill 
requires that to be eligible for enrollment in CRP, cropland must have 
a cropping history or otherwise be considered planted for 4 of the 6 
years preceding February 7, 2014, the date of enactment of the 2014 
Farm Bill. Therefore, beginning June 5, 2014, for cropland to be 
eligible for CRP continuous sign-up, the cropland must have a cropping 
history, or be considered to have been planted, for at least 4 years 
during 2008 through 2013.

TIP

    TIP provides financial incentives for retired or retiring owners or 
operators to transition land enrolled in CRP to beginning or socially 
disadvantaged farmers or ranchers for the purpose of returning some or 
all of the land into production, using sustainable grazing or crop 
production methods in compliance with the required conservation plan. 
If approved for TIP, the retired or retiring owner or operator will 
receive CRP payments for an additional 2 years after the CRP contract 
expires.
    The 2014 Farm Bill reauthorized TIP with minor administrative 
changes. Specifically, the 2014 Farm Bill now allows the retired or 
retiring owner or operator who transfers the land to a veteran farmer 
or rancher to be eligible for TIP. Section 2006(b) of the 2014 Farm 
Bill refers to the definition of ``veteran farmer or rancher'' in 7 
U.S.C. 2279(e): A farmer or rancher who has served in the Armed Forces, 
as defined in 38 U.S.C. 101(10), and who either has not operated a farm 
or ranch, or has operated a farm or ranch for not more than 10 years. 
This effectively means that to be eligible for TIP, the veteran farmer 
or rancher must also meet the existing definition of a beginning farmer 
or rancher (found in 7 CFR 1410.2). Consequently, this change does not 
increase the pool of eligible participants in TIP.
    The 2014 Farm Bill authorizes $33 million total for fiscal years 
2014 through 2018 to carry out TIP. This was an increase from the $25 
million authorized under the 2008 Farm Bill. CCC will restart TIP, 
subject to this funding limit, and begin an outreach effort about TIP 
to eligible veteran farmers and ranchers, as well as beginning and 
socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers.

CRP 1-Year Extension of Existing Contracts

    CRP contracts covering about 1.8 million acres of general sign-up 
land are scheduled to expire on September 30, 2014. No CRP general 
sign-up is scheduled for FY 2014. This document announces that FSA will 
provide an opportunity for a 1-year extension of CRP contracts 
scheduled to expire September 30, 2014, that were also originally 
enrolled under a previous CRP general sign-up and have a CRP contract 
length of 14 years or less. CRP participants may elect to extend the 
contract for all or a portion of the land enrolled under the expiring 
CRP contract. CRP participants that choose to extend CRP contracts for 
1 year will be required to file a CRP contract modification to extend 
the contract expiration. All terms and conditions of current CRP 
contracts will apply to the contract extension. This 1-year extension 
opportunity will be available from June 5, 2014, through August 8, 
2014. This extension is discretionary and is not required by the 2014 
Farm Bill.

CRP Early-Outs for Certain Existing CRP Contracts

    Section 2006(a) of the 2014 Farm Bill requires the Secretary to 
offer producers the opportunity for early termination--``early-outs''--
of certain CRP contracts during FY 2015, if those contracts have been 
in effect for at least 5 years. However, not all CRP contracts will be

[[Page 32436]]

eligible for early-out even if they meet the 5 years requirement; the 
2014 Farm Bill specifies that the following types of land will not be 
eligible for early-out:
     Filterstrips, waterways, strips adjacent to riparian 
areas, windbreaks, and shelterbelts;
     Land with an erodibility index of more than 15;
     Land devoted to hardwood trees;
     Wildlife habitat, duck nesting habitat, pollinator 
habitat, upland bird habitat buffer, wildlife food plots, State acres 
for wildlife enhancement, shallow water areas for wildlife, and rare 
and declining habitat;
     Farmable wetland and restored wetland;
     Land that contains diversions, erosion control structures, 
flood control structures, contour grass strips, living snow fences, 
salinity reducing vegetation, cross wind trap strips, and sediment 
retention structures;
     Land located within a federally designated wellhead 
protection area;
     Land that is covered by an easement under CRP;
     Land located within an average width, according to the 
applicable Natural Resources Conservation Service field office 
technical guide, of a perennial stream or permanent water body; and
     Land enrolled under the conservation reserve enhancement 
program.
    The producer may request the early-out, and it will be effective 
upon approval by the FSA County Office Committee. The start and end 
dates for requesting the early-out will be determined by the Deputy 
Administrator for Farm Programs and will be announced later by a news 
release.
    The 2014 Farm Bill did not change the following provisions for 
prorated rental payment, renewed enrollment, conservation requirements, 
and liability for contract violation:
    If an early-out terminates a CRP contract before the end of the 
fiscal year for which a CRP rental payment is due, FSA will provide a 
prorated rental payment covering the portion of the fiscal year during 
which the CRP contract was in effect.
    An early-out will not affect the ability of the owner or operator 
that requested the early-out to submit a subsequent bid to enroll the 
land that was subject to the CRP contract into CRP.
    If the producer returns land that was subject to a CRP contract to 
production of an agricultural commodity, the conservation requirements 
for highly erodible land conservation and wetland conservation under 7 
CFR part 12 and 16 U.S.C. Chapter 58, subchapters II and III, will 
apply.
    The early-out does not relieve the producer of liability for a 
contract violation occurring before the date of the contract 
termination.

Environmental Review

    FSA is currently analyzing discretionary changes to CRP authorized 
by the provisions of the 2014 Farm Bill by preparing a Supplemental 
Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (SPEIS), as was announced 
in a separate notice in the Federal Register on November 29, 2013 (78 
FR 71561-71562). However, FSA has determined, in accordance with 7 CFR 
799.9(d), ``Ensuring That Environmental Factors are Considered in 
Agency Decisionmaking,'' and 40 CFR parts 1500-1508 (the NEPA 
implementing the regulations of the Council on Environmental Quality) 
that the continuation of continuous CRP, the restarting of CRP TIP, and 
a 1-year contract extension for certain expiring CRP contract holders 
consistent with the current implementing regulations, will not 
significantly affect the quality of the human environment. Therefore, 
no environmental assessment or environmental impact statement will be 
prepared on these specific program provisions as specified in this 
document.

    Signed on June 2, 2014.
Juan M. Garcia,
Executive Vice President, Commodity Credit Corporation, and 
Administrator, Farm Service Agency.
[FR Doc. 2014-13085 Filed 6-4-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-05-P