This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER

contains notices to the public of the proposed

issuance of rules and regulations. The

purpose of these notices is to give interested

persons an opportunity to participate in the

rule making prior to the adoption of the final

rules.

Proposed Rules Federal Register

6134

Vol. 62, No. 28

Tuesday, February 11, 1997

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Federal Crop Insurance Corporation

7 CFR Parts 401 and 457

Fresh Plum Crop Insurance

Provisions; and Common Crop

Insurance Regulations; Plum Crop

Insurance Provisions

AGENCY: Federal Crop Insurance

Corporation, USDA.

ACTION: Proposed rule.

SUMMARY: The Federal Crop Insurance

Corporation (FCIC) proposes specific

crop provisions for the insurance of

plums. The provisions will be used in

conjunction with the Common Crop

Insurance Policy Basic Provisions,

which contain standard terms and

conditions common to most crops. The

intended effect of this action is to

provide policy changes to better meet

the needs of the insured, include the

current Fresh Plum Crop Insurance

Endorsement with the Common Crop

Insurance Policy for ease of use and

consistency of terms, and to restrict the

effects of the current Fresh Plum

Endorsement to the 1997 and prior crop

years.

DATES: Written comments on this

proposed rule will be accepted until

close of business April 14, 1997, and

will be considered when the rule is to

be made final. The comment period for

information collections under the

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995

continues through April 11, 1997.

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are

invited to submit written comments to

the Director, Product Development

Division, Federal Crop Insurance

Corporation, United States Department

of Agriculture, 9435 Holmes Road,

Kansas City, MO, 64131. Written

comments will be available for public

inspection and copying in room 0324,

South Building, United States

Department of Agriculture, 14th and

Independence Avenue, SW.,

Washington, DC, 8:15 a.m. to 4:45 p.m.,

est, Monday through Friday, except

holidays.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Stephen Hoy, Program Analyst,

Research and Development, Product

Development Division, Federal Crop

Insurance Corporation, at the Kansas

City, MO address listed above,

telephone (816) 926–7730.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Executive Order No. 12866

The amendments set forth in this

proposed rule contain information

collection that requires clearance by the

Office of Management and Budget

(OMB) under provisions of 44 U.S.C.

chapter 35.

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995

The information collection

requirements contained in these

regulations were previously approved

by OMB pursuant to the Paperwork

Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C.

chapter 35) under OMB control number

0563–0003 through September 30, 1998.

Section 7 of the 1998 Plum Crop

Provisions adds interplanting as an

insurable farming practice as long as it

is interplanted with another perennial

crop and does not adversely affect the

insured crop. This practice was not

insurable under the previous fresh plum

endorsement and the General Crop

Insurance Policy 88–G (REV 3–91) to

which it attached. Consequently,

interplanting information will need to

be collected using the FCI–12–P PreAcceptance Perennial Crop Inspection

Report form for approximately two

percent of the insureds who interplant

their plum crop. Standard interplanting

language has been added to most

perennial crops to make insurance

available for more perennial crop

producers and reduce the acreage that

will need to be placed into the

noninsured crop disaster assistance

program (NAP).

The other amendments set forth in

this proposed rule to not contain

additional information collections that

require clearance by OMB under the

provisions of 44 U.S.C. chapter 35.

The title of this information collection

is ‘‘Catastrophic Risk Protection Plan

and Related Requirements including,

Common Crop Insurance Regulations;

Plum Crop Insurance Provision.’’ The

information to be collected includes a

crop insurance application and an

acreage report. Information collected

from the application and acreage report

is electronically submitted to FCIC by

the reinsured companies. Potential

respondents to this information

collection are producers of plums that

are eligible for Federal crop insurance.

The information requested is

necessary for the reinsured companies

and FCIC to provide insurance and

reinsurance, determine eligibility,

determine the correct parties to the

agreement or contract, determine and

collect premiums or other monetary

amounts, and pay benefits.

All information is reported annually.

The reporting burden for this collection

of information is estimated to average

16.9 minutes per response for each of

the 3.6 responses from approximately

1,755,015 respondents. The total annual

burden on the public for the information

collection is 2,669,932 hours.

FCIC is requesting comments on the

following: (a) Whether the proposed

collection of information is necessary

for the proper performance of the

functions of the agency, including

whether the information shall have

practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the

agency’s estimate of the burden of the

proposed collection of information; (c)

ways to enhance the quality, utility, and

clarity of the information to be

collected; and (d) ways to minimize the

burden of the collection of information

on respondents, including through the

use of automated collection techniques

or other forms of information gathering

technology.

Comments regarding paperwork

reduction should be submitted to the

Desk Officer for Agriculture, Office of

Information and Regulatory Affairs,

Office of Management and Budget,

Washington, DC 20503.

OMB is required to make a decision

concerning the collections of

information contained in these

proposed regulations between 30 and 60

days after submission to OMB.

Therefore, a comment to OMB is best

assured of having full effect if OMB

receives it within 30 days of

publication. This does not affect the

deadline for the public to comment on

the proposed regulation.

Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of

1995

Title II of the Unfunded Mandates

Reform Act of 1995 (UMRA), Public

Law 104–4, establishes requirements for
Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 28 / Tuesday, February 11, 1997 / Proposed Rules 6135

Federal agencies to assess the effects of

their regulatory actions on state, local,

and tribal governments and the private

sector. This rule contains no Federal

mandates (under the regulatory

provisions of Title II of the UMRA) for

state, local, and tribal governments or

the private sector. Thus, the rule is not

subject to the requirements of section

202 and 205 of the UMRA.

Executive Order No. 12612

It has been determined under section

6(a) of Executive Order No. 12612,

Federalism, that this rule does not have

sufficient federalism implications to

warrant the preparation of a Federalism

Assessment. The provisions contained

in this rule will not have a substantial

direct effect on states or their political

subdivisions, or on the distribution of

power and responsibilities among the

various levels of government.

Regulatory Flexibility Act

This regulation will not have a

significant impact on a substantial

number of small entities. New

provisions included in this rule will not

impact small entities to a greater extent

than large entities. Under the current

regulations, a producer is required to

complete an application and acreage

report. If the crop is damaged or

destroyed, the insured is required to

give notice of loss and provide the

necessary information to complete a

claim for indemnity. The producer must

also annually certify to the previous

years production, if adequate records

are available to support the certification,

or receive a transitional yield. The

producer must maintain the production

records to support the certified

information for at least three years. This

regulation does not alter those

requirements. The amount of work

required of the insurance companies

delivering and servicing these policies

will not increase significantly from the

amount of work currently required. This

rule does not have any greater or lesser

impact on the producer. Therefore, this

action is determined to be exempt from

the provisions of the regulatory

Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 605), and no

Regulatory Flexibility Analysis was

prepared.

Federal Assistance Program

This program is listed in the Catalog

of Federal Domestic Assistance under

No. 10.450.

Executive Order No. 12372

This program is not subject to the

provisions of Executive Order No.

12372, which require intergovernmental

consultation with state and local

officials. See the Notice related to 7 CFR

part 3015, subpart V, published at 48 FR

29115, June 24, 1983.

Executive Order No. 12778

The Office of the General Counsel has

determined that these regulations meet

the applicable standards provided in

sections 2(a) and 2(b)(2) of Executive

Order No. 12778. The provisions of this

rule will not have a retroactive effect

prior to the effective date. The

provisions of this rule will preempt

state and local laws to the extent such

state and local laws are inconsistent

herewith. The administrative appeal

provisions published at 7 CFR part 11

must be exhausted before any action for

judicial review may be brought.

Environmental Evaluation

This action is not expected to have a

significant impact on the quality of the

human environment, health, and safety.

Therefore, neither an Environmental

Assessment nor an Environmental

Impact Statement is needed.

National Performance Review

This regulatory action is being taken

as part of the National Performance

Review Initiative to eliminate

unnecessary or duplicative regulations

and improve those that remain in force.

Background

FCIC proposes to add to the Common

Crop Insurance Regulations (7 CFR part

457), a new section, 7 CFR 457.157,

Plum Crop Insurance Provisions. The

new provisions will be effective for the

1998 and succeeding crop years. These

provisions will replace and supersede

the current provisions for insuring fresh

plums found at 7 CFR 401.146 (Fresh

Plum Endorsement). FCIC also proposes

to amend § 401.146 to limit its effect to

the 1997 and prior crop years. FCIC will

later publish a regulation to remove and

reserve § 401.146.

This rule makes minor editorial and

format changes to improve the Fresh

Plum Endorsement’s compatibility with

the Common Crop Insurance Policy. In

addition, FCIC is proposing substantive

changes in the provisions for insuring

plums as follows:

1. Remove the word ‘‘fresh’’ from the

title of the policy since plums marketed

for uses other than fresh packed are

covered.

2. Section 1—Add definitions for the

terms ‘‘days,’’ ‘‘direct marketing,’’ ‘‘good

farming practice,’’ ‘‘interplanted,’’

‘‘irrigated practice,’’ ‘‘non-contiguous,’’

‘‘pitburn and sunburn,’’ ‘‘production

guarantee (per acre),’’ ‘‘scion,’’ ‘‘varietal

group,’’ and ‘‘written agreement’’ for

clarification purposes.

3. Section 2(e)(3)(ii)—Add optional

units by varietal group to be consistent

with other policies that offer insurance

by crop variety.

4. Section 3(a)—Specify that the

insured may select only one price

election for all the plums in the county

insured under this policy, unless the

Special Provisions provide different

price elections by varietal group, in

which case the insured may select one

price election for each varietal group.

The price election the insured selects

must have the same percentage

relationship to the maximum price

offered. This helps to protect against

adverse selection and simplifies

administration of the program.

5. Section 3(b)—Specify that an

insured must report damage, removal of

trees, and any change in practice that

may reduce yields. For the first year of

insurance for acreage interplanted with

another perennial crop and anytime the

planting pattern of such acreage is

changed, the insured must report the

age and varietal group, if applicable, of

any interplanted perennial crop, its

planting pattern, and any other

information needed to establish the

approved yield. If the insured fails to

notify the insurer of factors that may

reduce yields from previous levels, the

insurer will reduce the production

guarantee at any time the insurer

becomes aware of damage, removal of

trees, or changes in practices. This

allows the insurance provider to limit

liability, if necessary, before insurance

attaches.

6. Section 6—Remove the provision

that restricts crop insurance coverage if

plums are harvested directly by the

public. Section 10(b) of the proposed

rule requires the insured to notify the

insurance provider at least 15 days

before any production from any unit

will be sold by direct marketing in order

to accurately determine production to

count.

7. Section 6(d)—Specify that at least

200 lugs per acre must have been

produced in at least one of the three

most recent actual production history

crop years. Previous regulations

required a minimum of 200 lugs per

acre of fresh market production in the

previous crop year unless the acreage is

inspected by us and approved for

coverage. Basing the required minimum

production on only the previous crop

year is too restrictive considering that

one year of adverse growing conditions

would exclude eligibility for crop

insurance.

8. Section 6(f)—Allow insurance for

plums produced on scions that have not

reached the fifth growing season after

being grafted to established rootstock. If
6136 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 28 / Tuesday, February 11, 1997 / Proposed Rules

all other requirements for insurability

have been met, the crop should make

the approved yield.

9. Section 7—Allow insurance for

plums interplanted with another

perennial crop in order to make

insurance available on more acreage and

reduce the reliance on the noninsured

crop disaster assistance program (NAP)

for protection against crop losses.

10. Section 8(a)(1)—Specify that the

insurance period begins on February 1

of each crop year, except for the year of

application, if the application is

received after January 22 but prior to

February 1, insurance will attach on the

10th day after the application is

received in the insurance provider’s

local office unless the acreage is

inspected during the 10 day period and

does not meet insurability requirements.

This provision is consistent with other

perennial crops to prevent producers

from obtaining insurance only when

they know a loss is likely.

11. Section 8(b)—Add provisions to

clarify the procedures when an

insurable share is acquired or

relinquished on or before the acreage

reporting date.

12. Section 9(a)(2)—Add pitburn and

sunburn as insured causes of loss since

they are common causes of loss.

13. Section 9(c)(1)—Clarify that

disease and insect infestation are

excluded causes of loss unless adverse

weather prevents the proper application

of control measures, causes control

measures to be ineffective when

properly applied, or causes disease or

insect infestation for which no effective

control mechanism is available.

14. Section 10(a)—Specify the notice

requirements if the orchard has suffered

a loss, and the crop will not be

harvested, in order to permit timely

appraisal of any loss.

15. Section 10(b)—Require the

producer to give notice at least 15 days

prior to harvest so a preharvest

inspection can be made if the insured

intends to engage in direct marketing to

consumers. This is necessary to permit

an accurate appraisal of production to

count because it is difficult to verify

production that is directly marketed to

consumers.

16. Section 10(c)—Require the

producer to give at least 15 days notice

prior to the beginning of harvest or

immediately if damage is discovered

during harvest to permit the insurance

provider to make a timely inspection.

17. Section 10(d)—Prohibit the

insured from selling or otherwise

disposing of any damaged production

until consent is given by the insurance

provider.

18. Section 11(c)(2)(i)—Change the

quality specifications for determining

production to count from U.S. Number

1 standards to the California Marketing

Order grade requirements in effect for

the crop year, since such grade order

requirements better correspond with the

quality specifications used by the plum

industry.

19. Sections 11(c)(2)(ii)—Specify the

adjustment of the production to count

for harvested production that is packed

and sold as fresh fruit but does not meet

California Marketing Order grade

requirements.

20. Sections 11(c)(2)(iii)—Specify the

adjustment of the production to count

for harvested production that is or could

be marketed for any use other than fresh

packed plums.

21. Section 12—Add provisions for

providing insurance covered by written

agreement. FCC has a long standing

policy of permitting certain

modifications of the insurance contracts

by written agreement for some policies.

This amendment allows FCC to tailor

the policy to a specific insured in

certain instances. The new section will

cover the application for and duration of

written agreements.

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Parts 401 and

457

Crop insurance, Fresh plums

endorsement, Plums.

Proposed Rule

Accordingly, for the reasons set forth

in the preamble, the Federal Crop

Insurance Corporation hereby proposes

to amend 7 CFR parts 401 and 457 as

follows:

PART 401—GENERAL CROP

INSURANCE REGULATIONS—

REGULATIONS FOR THE 1988 AND

SUBSEQUENT CONTRACT YEARS

1. The authority citation for 7 CFR

part 401 continues to read as follows:

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 1506(l), 1506(p).

2. The introductory text of § 401.146

is revised to read as follows:

§ 401.146 Fresh plum endorsement.

The provisions of the Fresh Plum

Crop Insurance Endorsement for the

1990 through the 1997 crop years are as

follows:

* * * * *

PART 457–COMMON CROP

INSURANCE REGULATIONS;

REGULATIONS FOR THE 1994 AND

SUBSEQUENT CONTRACT YEARS

3. The authority citation for 7 CFR

part 457 continues to read as follows:

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 1506(l), 1506(p).

4. 7 CFR part 457 is amended by

adding a new § 457.157 to read as

follows:

§ 457.157 Plum Crop Insurance

Provisions.

The Plum Crop Insurance Provisions

for the 1998 and succeeding crop years

are as follows:

FCIC policies:

Department of Agriculture

Federal Crop Insurance Corporation

Reinsured policies:

(Appropriate title for insurance provider)

Both FCIC and reinsured policies:

Plum Crop Provisions

If a conflict exists among the Basic

Provisions (§ 457.8), these crop provisions,

and the Special Provisions; the Special

Provisions will control these crop provisions

and the Basic Provisions; and these crop

provisions will control the Basic Provisions.

1. Definitions.

Days—Calendar days.

Direct marketing—Sale of the insured crop

directly to consumers without the

intervention of an intermediary such as a

wholesaler, retailer, packer, processor,

shipper, or buyer. Examples of direct

marketing include selling through an on-farm

or roadside stand, farmer’s market, and

permitting the general public to enter the

field for the purpose of picking all or a

portion of the crop.

Good farming practices—The cultural

practices generally in use in the county for

the crop to make normal progress toward

maturity and produce at least the yield used

to determine the production guarantee, and

are those recognized by the Cooperative State

Research, Education, and Extension Service

as compatible with agronomic and weather

conditions in the county.

Harvest—The picking of mature plums

from the trees either by hand or machine.

Interplanted—Acreage on which two or

more crops are planted in any form of

alternating or mixed pattern.

Irrigated practice—A method of producing

a crop by which water is artificially applied

during the growing season by appropriate

systems and at the proper times, with the

intention of providing the quantity of water

needed to produce at least the yield used to

establish the irrigated production guarantee

on the irrigated acreage planted to the

insured crop.

Lug—Twenty-eight (28) pounds of the

insured crop.

Non-contiguous—Any two or more tracts

of land whose boundaries do not touch at any

point, except that land separated only by a

public or private right-of-way, waterway, or

an irrigation canal will be considered as

contiguous.

Pitburn and sunburn—Damage to fresh

fruit as a result of excessive heat.

Production guarantee (per acre)—The

number of lugs of plums determined by

multiplying the approved APH yield per acre

by the coverage level percentage you elect.
Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 28 / Tuesday, February 11, 1997 / Proposed Rules 6137

Scion—Twig or portion of a twig of one

plant that is grafted on to a stock of another.

Varietal group—Different varieties of

plums that are grouped according to the

normal maturity dates as specified in the

Special Provisions.

Written agreement—A written document

that alters designated terms of this policy in

accordance with section 12.

2. Unit Division.

(a) Unless limited by the Special

Provisions, a unit as defined in section 1

(Definitions) of the Basic Provisions (§ 457.8)

(basic unit), may be divided into optional

units if, for each optional unit, you meet all

the conditions of this section or if a written

agreement to such division exists.

(b) Basic units may not be divided into

optional units on any basis other than as

described in this section.

(c) If you do not comply fully with these

provisions, we will combine all optional

units that are not in compliance with these

provisions into the basic unit from which

they were formed. We will combine the

optional units at any time we discover that

you have failed to comply with these

provisions. If failure to comply with these

provisions is determined to be inadvertent,

and the optional units are combined into a

basic unit, that portion of the additional

premium paid for the optional units that

have been combined will be refunded to you

for the units combined.

(d) All optional units you selected for the

crop year must be identified on the acreage

report for that crop year.

(e) The following requirements must be

met for each optional unit:

(1) You must have records, which can be

independently verified, of acreage and

production for each optional unit for at least

the last crop year used to determine your

production guarantee;

(2) You must have records of marketed

production or measurement of stored

production from each optional unit

maintained in such a manner that permits us

to verify the production from each optional

unit, or the production from each unit must

be kept separate until loss adjustment is

completed by us; and

(3) Each optional unit must meet one or

more of the following criteria, as applicable:

(i) Optional Units on Acreage Located on

Non-Contiguous Land: Optional units may be

established if each optional unit is located on

non-contiguous land.

(ii) Optional Units on Acreage by Varietal

Group: In addition to, or instead of,

establishing optional units on noncontiguous land, optional units may be

established by varietal group when provided

for in the Special Provisions.

3. Insurance Guarantees, Coverage Levels,

and Prices for Determining Indemnities.

In addition to the requirements of section

3 (Insurance Guarantees, Coverage Levels,

and Prices for Determining Indemnities) of

the Basic Provisions (§ 457.8):

(a) You may select only one price election

for all the plums in the county insured under

this policy unless the Special Provisions

provide different price elections by varietal

group, in which case you may select one

price election for each plum varietal group

designated in the Special Provisions. The

price elections you choose for each varietal

group must have the same percentage

relationship to the maximum price offered by

us for each varietal group. For example, if

you choose 100 percent of the maximum

price election for one varietal group, you

must also choose 100 percent of the

maximum price election for all other varietal

groups.

(b) You must report, by the production

reporting date designated in section 3

(Insurance Guarantees, Coverage Levels, and

Prices for Determining Indemnities) of the

Basic Provisions (§ 457.8), by varietal group

if applicable:

(1) Any damage, removal of trees, change

in practices, or any other circumstance that

may reduce the expected yield below the

yield upon which the insurance guarantee is

based, and the number of affected acres;

(2) The number of bearing trees on

insurable and uninsurable acreage;

(3) The age of the trees and the planting

pattern; and

(4) For the first year of insurance for

acreage interplanted with another perennial

crop, and anytime the planting pattern of

such acreage is changed:

(i) The age of the interplanted crop and

varietal group if applicable;

(ii) The planting pattern; and

(iii) Any other information that we request

in order to establish your approved yield.

We will reduce the yield used to establish

your production guarantee as necessary,

based on our estimate of the effect of

interplanting a perennial crop, removal of

trees, damage, change in practice, and any

other circumstance that may effect the yield

potential of the insured crop. If you fail to

notify us of any circumstance that may

reduce your yields from previous levels, we

will reduce your production guarantee as

necessary at any time we become aware of

the circumstance.

4. Contract Changes.

In accordance with section 4 (Contract

Changes) of the Basic Provisions (§ 457.8),

the contract change date is October 31

preceding the cancellation date.

5. Cancellation and Termination Dates.

In accordance with section 2 (Life of

Policy, Cancellation, and Termination) of the

Basic Provisions (§ 457.8), the cancellation

and termination dates are January 31.

6. Insured Crop.

In accordance with section 8 (Insured

Crop) of the Basic Provisions (§ 457.8), the

crop insured will be all the plums in the

county for which a premium rate is provided

by the actuarial table:

(a) In which you have a share;

(b) That are grown on tree varieties that:

(1) Were commercially available when the

trees were set out;

(2) Are adapted to the area;

(3) Are grown on rootstock that is adapted

to the area; and

(4) Are regulated by the California

Advisory Board Standards, a related crop

advisory board, or the state;

(c) That are irrigated;

(d) That have produced an average of at

least 200 lugs per acre in at least one of the

three most recent actual production history

crop years, unless we inspect such acreage

and give our approval in writing;

(e) That are grown in an orchard that, if

inspected, is considered acceptable by us;

and

(f) That have reached at least the fifth (5th)

growing season after set out. Plums produced

on scions that have not reached the fifth

growing season may be insured if the

provisions in section 6 (a), (b), (c), and (e) are

met. Such trees must have produced at least

200 lugs per acre in at least one year after

being grafted.

7. Insurable Acreage.

In lieu of the provisions in section 9

(Insurable Acreage) of the Basic Provisions

(§ 457.8) that prohibit insurance attaching to

a crop planted with another crop, plums

interplanted with another perennial crop are

insurable unless we inspect the acreage and

determine that it does not meet the

requirements contained in your policy.

8. Insurance Period.

(a) In accordance with the provisions of

section 11 (Insurance Period) of the Basic

Provisions (§ 457.8):

(1) Coverage begins on February 1 of each

crop year, except that for the year of

application, if your application is received

after January 22 but prior to February 1,

insurance will attach on the 10th day after

your properly completed application is

received in our local office unless we inspect

the acreage during the 10 day period and

determine that it does not meet insurability

requirements. You must provide any

information that we require for the crop or

to determine the condition of the orchard.

(2) The calendar date for the end of the

insurance period for each crop year is

September 30.

(b) In addition to the provisions of section

11 (Insurance Period) of the Basic Provisions

(§ 457.8):

(1) If you acquire an insurable share in any

insurable acreage after coverage begins but on

or before the acreage reporting date for the

crop year, and after an inspection we

consider the acreage acceptable, insurance

will be considered to have attached to such

acreage on the calendar date for the

beginning of the insurance period.

(2) If you relinquish your insurable share

on any insurable acreage of plums on or

before the acreage reporting date for the crop

year, insurance will not be considered to

have attached to, and no premium or

indemnity will be due for such acreage for

that crop year unless:

(i) A transfer of coverage and right to an

indemnity, or a similar form approved by us,

is completed by all affected parties;

(ii) We are notified by you or the transferee

in writing of such transfer on or before the

acreage reporting date; and

(iii) The transferee is eligible for crop

insurance.

9. Causes of Loss.

(a) In accordance with the provisions of

section 12 (Causes of Loss) of the Basic

Provisions (§ 457.8), insurance is provided

only against the following causes of loss that

occur during the insurance period:

(1) Adverse weather conditions;

(2) Pitburn and sunburn;

(3) Fire, unless weeds and other forms of

undergrowth have not been controlled or
6138 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 28 / Tuesday, February 11, 1997 / Proposed Rules

pruning debris has not been removed from

the orchard;

(4) Wildlife;

(5) Earthquake;

(6) Volcanic eruption;

(7) An insufficient number of chilling

hours to effectively break dormancy; or

(8) Failure of the irrigation water supply,

if caused by an insured peril that occurs

during the insurance period.

(b) In addition to the causes of loss

excluded in section 12 (Causes of Loss) of the

Basic Provisions (§ 457.8), we will not insure

against damage or loss of production due to:

(1) Disease or insect infestation, unless

adverse weather:

(i) Prevents the proper application of

control measures or causes properly applied

control measures to be ineffective; or

(ii) Causes disease or insect infestation for

which no effective control mechanism is

available;

(2) Rejection of the crop by the packing

house due to being undersized, immature,

overripe, or mechanically damaged; or

(3) Inability to market the plums for any

reason other than actual physical damage

from an insurable cause specified in this

section. For example, we will not pay you an

indemnity if you are unable to market due to

quarantine, boycott, or refusal of any person

to accept production.

10. Duties In The Event of Damage or Loss.

In addition to the requirements of section

14 (Duties in the Event of Damage or Loss)

of the Basic Provisions (§ 457.8), the

following will apply:

(a) You must notify us within 3 days of the

date harvest should have started if the crop

will not be harvested.

(b) You must notify us at least 15 days

before any production from any unit will be

sold by direct marketing. We will conduct an

appraisal that will be used to determine your

production to count for production that is

sold by direct marketing. If damage occurs

after this appraisal, we will conduct an

additional appraisal. These appraisals, and

any acceptable records provided by you, will

be used to determine your production to

count. Failure to give timely notice that

production will be sold by direct marketing

will result in an appraised amount of

production to count of not less than the

production guarantee per acre if such failure

results in our inability to make the required

appraisal.

(c) If you intend to claim an indemnity on

any unit, you must notify us at least 15 days

prior to the beginning of harvest or

immediately if damage is discovered during

harvest, so that we may inspect the damaged

production.

(d) You must not sell or dispose of the

damaged crop until after we have given you

written consent to do so. If you fail to notify

us and such failure results in our inability to

inspect the damaged production, we may

consider all such production to be

undamaged and include it as production to

count.

11. Settlement of Claim.

(a) We will determine your loss on a unit

basis. In the event you are unable to provide

separate acceptable production records:

(1) For any optional units, we will combine

all optional units for which acceptable

production records were not provided; or

(2) For any basic units, we will allocate any

commingled production to such units in

proportion to our liability on the harvested

acreage for the units.

(b) In the event of loss or damage covered

by this policy, we will settle your claim by:

(1) Multiplying the insured acreage for

each varietal group, if applicable, by its

respective production guarantee;

(2) Multiplying the results in section

11(b)(1) by the respective price election for

each varietal group, if applicable;

(3) Totaling the results in section 11(b)(2);

(4) Multiplying the total production to be

counted of each varietal group, if applicable,

(see section 11(c)) by the respective price

election;

(5) Totaling the results in section 11(b)(4);

(6) Subtracting the results in section

11(b)(5) from the results in section 11 (b)(3);

and

(7) Multiplying the result in section

11(b)(6) by your share.

(c) The total production to count (in lugs)

from all insurable acreage on the unit will

include:

(1) All appraised production as follows:

(i) Not less than the production guarantee

per acre for acreage:

(A) That is abandoned;

(B) That is sold by direct marketing

directly if you fail to meet the requirement

contained in section 10;

(C) That is damaged solely by uninsured

causes; or

(D) For which you fail to provide

production records that are acceptable to us.

(ii) Production lost due to uninsured

causes;

(iii) Unharvested production; and

(iv) Potential production on insured

acreage that you intend to abandon or no

longer care for, if you and we agree on the

appraised amount of production. Upon such

agreement, the insurance period for that

acreage will end. If you do not agree with our

appraisal, we may defer the claim only if you

agree to continue to care for the crop. We will

then make another appraisal when you notify

us of further damage or that harvest is general

in the area unless you harvested the crop, in

which case we will use the harvested

production. If you do not continue to care for

the crop, our appraisal made prior to

deferring the claim will be used to determine

the production to count; and

(2) All harvested production from the

insurable acreage:

(i) That is packed and sold as fresh fruit

and meets the California Marketing Order

grade requirements, as amended, in effect for

the applicable crop year;

(ii) That is packed and sold as fresh fruit

but does not meet the grade requirements

specified in section 11(c)(2)(i) due to

insurable causes. Such production will be

adjusted by:

(A) Dividing the value per lug of this

production by the highest price election

available for the applicable varietal group;

and

(B) Multiplying the resulting factor, if less

than 1.0, by the number of lugs of such

plums.

(iii) That is damaged and is, or could be,

marketed for any use other than fresh packed

plums. Such production will be adjusted by:

(A) Multiplying the number of tons of such

production by the value per ton of the

damaged plums or $50.00, whichever is

greater; and

(B) Dividing that result by the highest price

election available for the applicable varietal

group.

12. Written agreement.

Designated terms of this policy may be

altered by written agreement in accordance

with the following:

(a) You must apply in writing for each

written agreement no later than the sales

closing date, except as provided in section

12(e);

(b) The application for a written agreement

must contain all terms of the contract

between you and us that will be in effect if

the written agreement is not approved;

(c) If approved, the written agreement will

include all variable terms of the contract,

including, but not limited to, crop variety,

the guarantee, premium rate, and price

election;

(d) Each agreement will only be valid for

one year (If the written agreement is not

specifically renewed the following year,

insurance coverage for subsequent crop years

will be in accordance with the printed

policy); and

(e) An application for written agreement

submitted after the sales closing date may be

approved if, after physical inspection of the

acreage, it is determined that no loss has

occurred and the crop is insurable in

accordance with the policy and written

agreement provisions.

Signed in Washington, DC, on February 6,

1997.

Kenneth D. Ackerman,

Manager, Federal Crop Insurance

Corporation.

[FR Doc. 97–3330 Filed 2–10–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–FA–P

Agricultural Marketing Service

7 CFR Part 980

[Docket No. FV96–980–1 PR]

Vegetables; Import Regulations;

Reopening of Comment Period for

Filing Written Comments on Removal

of Banana and Fingerling Types of

Potatoes and Exemption of Potatoes

for Potato Salad From the Potato

Import Regulation

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service,

USDA.

ACTION: Proposed rule; reopening

comment period.

SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that

the comment period on the proposed

removal of banana and fingerling types

of potatoes and exemption of potatoes

for potato salad from the potato import