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

17758

Vol. 62, No. 70

Friday, April 11, 1997

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Federal Crop Insurance Corporation

7 CFR Parts 401 and 457

RIN 0563–AA79

General Crop Insurance Regulations,

Safflower Seed Crop Insurance

Endorsement; and Common Crop

Insurance Regulations, Safflower 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

safflower. 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 safflower seed crop

endorsement in the Common Crop

Insurance Policy for ease of use and

consistency of terms, and to restrict the

effect of the current Safflower Seed Crop

Insurance Endorsement to the 1997 and

prior crop years.

DATES: Written comments, data, and

opinions on this proposed rule will be

accepted until close of business May 12,

1997 and will be considered when the

rule is to be made final.

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.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ron

Nesheim, Insurance Management

Specialist, Research and Development

Division, 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 Office of Management and Budget

(OMB) has determined this rule to be

exempt for the purposes of Executive

Order No. 12866 and, therefore, has not

been reviewed by OMB.

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995

The title of this information collection

is ‘‘Catastrophic Risk Protection Plan

and Related Requirements including,

Common Crop Insurance Regulations;

Safflower Crop Insurance Provisions.’’

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 safflower

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 this

information collection is 2,669,970

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, D.C. 20503.

The Office of Management and Budget

(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 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, this rule is not

subject to the requirements of sections

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 insured must

also annually certify to the previous
Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 70 / Friday, April 11, 1997 / Proposed Rules 17759

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 3 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. 12988

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 duplicate 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 457.125,

Safflower 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 safflower found at 7 CFR

401.123 (Safflower Seed Crop

Endorsement). FCIC also proposes to

amend 7 CFR 401.123 to limit its effect

to the 1997 and prior crop years. FCIC

will later publish a regulation to remove

and reserve Sec. 401.123.

This rule makes minor editorial and

format changes to improve the Safflower

Seed Crop Endorsement’s compatibility

with the Common Crop Insurance

Policy. In addition, FCIC is proposing

substantive changes in the provisions

for insuring safflower as follows:

1. The name of the crop provision was

shortened from ‘‘Safflower Seed’’ to

‘‘Safflower’’. Safflower can be used in

either a singular or plural context.

Changing the name of the crop

provisions from ‘‘safflower seed’’ to

‘‘safflower’’ removes any confusion with

policies that use the word ‘‘seed’’ in

their title and insure the production of

seed for planting in a future year. Also,

the Late Planting Agreement Option,

that is applicable to Safflower

provisions found at 7 CFR 401.123, no

longer applies. Both Late Planting and

Prevented Planting provisions for

safflower will be proposed in a separate

rule.

2. Section 1—Add definitions for the

terms ‘‘days,’’ ‘‘FSA,’’ ‘‘final planting

date,’’ ‘‘good farming practices,’’

‘‘interplanted,’’ ‘‘irrigated practice,’’

‘‘local market price,’’ ‘‘nurse crop

(companion crop),’’ ‘‘planted acreage,’’

‘‘pounds,’’ ‘‘practical to replant,’’

‘‘production guarantee (per acre),’’

‘‘replanting,’’ and ‘‘written agreement’’

for clarification. Also, amend the

definition of ‘‘value per pound of

damaged safflower’’. It now reads, ‘‘The

price per pound for damaged safflower

offered by buyers in the area in which

you normally market safflower’’. A floor

of 50 percent of the average market price

was previously used for computing

safflower losses because of limited

market outlets. There are now sufficient

markets available to provide a valid

price for damaged safflower production,

so the 50 percent floor has been

removed.

3. Section 2—Expand unit division

provisions to include insured reporting

responsibilities to qualify for optional

units. Section 2(e)(4)(ii) clarifies unit

division for non-irrigated corners of

center pivot irrigation systems.

4. Section 3—Clarify that an insured

may select only one price election for all

the safflower in the county as

designated in the Special Provisions.

5. Section 5—Change the cancellation

and termination dates to be 30 days

earlier than in the previous safflower

crop insurance endorsement for states

other than California. This change is

intended to reduce program

vulnerabilities that may exist under

current program dates by reducing the

opportunity for insureds to anticipate

below-normal yields. The change also

corresponds with the change to the sales

closing date which has been moved

back 30 days to comply with the Federal

Crop Insurance Reform Act of 1994.

6. Section 6—Prohibit interplanting

safflower with another crop, or planting

safflower into an established grass or

legume, unless allowed by Special

Provisions or by written agreement.

7. Section 9—Clarify that any losses

caused by insufficient or improper

application of pest control or disease

control measures are not an insured

cause of loss.

8. Section 10—Allow producers to

receive a replant payment. This is

consistent with many other annual

crops converted to the Common Policy

and provides additional incentives to

insured to make every effort to produce

a crop.

9. Section 11—The representative

samples of unharvested safflower must

not be harvested or destroyed until the

earlier of inspection or 15 days after

harvest of the balance of the unit is

completed.

10. Section 12(a)—Clarify determining

loss on a unit basis and requirements of

production records.

11. Section 12(c)—Clarify how to

determine total production to count

from all insurable acreage.

12. Section 12(d)—Clarify when

production qualifies for quality

adjustment by adding a provision that

clarifies when quality will be a factor in

determining the loss.

13. Section 12(d)(4)—Remove the

language that limited quality adjustment

to not less than 50 percent of the market

price.

14. Section 13—Add provisions for

providing insurance coverage by written

agreement. FCIC has a long-standing

policy of permitting certain

modifications of the insurance contract

by written agreement for some policies.

This amendment allows FCIC to tailor

the policy to a specific insured in

certain instances. The new section will

cover the procedures for and duration of

written agreements.

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Parts 401 and

457

Crop insurance, Safflower, Safflower

seed crop endorsement.

Proposed Rule

Accordingly, as set forth in the

preamble, the Federal Crop Insurance
17760 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 70 / Friday, April 11, 1997 / Proposed Rules

Corporation hereby proposes to revise 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).

Section 401.8 is amended by revising

the introductory text of paragraph (d) to

read as follows:

§ 401.8 The application and policy.

* * * * *

(d) The application for the 1988 and

succeeding crop years is found at

subpart D of part 400, General

Administrative Regulations (7 CFR

400.37 and 400.38). The provisions of

the Safflower Insurance Policy for the

1988 through 1997 crop years are as

follows:

§ 401.123 [Amended]

3. In § 401.123 the introductory

paragraph is revised to read as follows:

The provisions of the Safflower Seed

Crop Insurance Endorsement for the

1988 through the 1997 crop year.

* * * * *

PART 457—COMMON CROP

INSURANCE REGULATIONS;

REGULATIONS FOR THE 1994 AND

SUBSEQUENT CONTRACT YEARS

4. The authority citation for 7 CFR

Part 457 continues to read as follows:

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 1506(1), 1506(p).

5. Section 457.125 is added to read as

follows:

§ 457.125 Safflower crop insurance

provisions.

The Safflower 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:

SAFFLOWER CROP INSURANCE

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.

FSA—The Farm Service Agency, an agency

of the United States Department of

Agriculture, or a successor agency.

Final planting date—The date contained in

the Special Provisions for the insured crop by

which the crop must initially be planted in

order to be insured for the full production

guarantee.

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—Collecting the safflower seed by

combining or threshing.

Interplanted—Acreage on which two or

more crops are planted in a manner that does

not permit separate agronomic maintenance

or harvest of the insured crop.

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.

Local market price—The cash price per

pound for undamaged safflower (test weight

of 35 pounds per bushel or higher and seed

damage less than 25 percent) offered by

buyers in the area in which you normally

market the insured crop.

Nurse crop (companion crop)—A crop

planted into the same acreage as another

crop, that is intended to be harvested

separately, and which is planted to improve

growing conditions for the crop with which

it is grown.

Planted acreage—Land in which seed has

been placed by a machine appropriate for the

insured crop and planting method, at the

correct depth, into a seedbed that has been

properly prepared for the planting method

and production practice. Safflower must

initially be planted in rows. Acreage planted

in any other manner will not be insurable

unless otherwise provided by the Special

Provisions or by written agreement.

Pound—Sixteen ounces avoirdupois.

Practical to replant—In lieu of the

definition of ‘‘Practical to replant’’ contained

in section 1 of the Basic Provisions (§ 457.8),

practical to replant is defined as our

determination, after loss or damage to the

insured crop, based on factors, including but

not limited to moisture availability,

condition of the field, time to crop maturity,

and marketing window, that replanting the

insured crop will allow the crop to attain

maturity prior to the calendar date for the

end of the insurance period. It will not be

considered practical to replant after the end

of the late planting period unless replanting

is generally occurring in the area.

Production guarantee (per acre)—The

number of pounds determined by

multiplying the approved APH yield per acre

by the coverage level percentage you elect.

Replanting—Performing the cultural

practices necessary to replace the safflower

seed and then replacing the safflower seed in

the insured acreage with the expectation of

growing a successful crop.

Value per pound of damaged safflower—

The cash price per pound for damaged

safflower (test weight below 35 pounds per

bushel or seed damage in excess of 25

percent) offered by buyers in the area in

which you normally market safflower.

Written agreement—A written document

that alters designated terms of this policy in

accordance with section 13.

2. Unit Division

(a) Unless limited by the Special

Provisions, a unit as defined in section 1

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

a 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.

(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 planted acreage

and production for each optional unit for at

least the last crop year used to determine

your production guarantee;

(2) You must plant the crop in a manner

that results in a clear and discernable break

in the planting pattern at the boundaries of

each optional unit;

(3) For each crop year, records of marketed

production or measurement of stored

production from each optional unit must be

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

(4) Each optional unit must meet one or

more of the following criteria, as applicable:

(i) Optional Units by Section, Section

Equivalent, or FSA Farm Serial Number:

Optional units may be established if each

optional unit is located in a separate legally

identified section. In the absence of sections,

we may consider parcels of land legally

identified by other methods of measure

including, but not limited to, Spanish grants,

railroad surveys, leagues, labors, or Virginia

Military Lands, as the equivalent of sections

for unit purposes. In areas that have not been

surveyed using the systems identified above,

or another system approved by us, or in areas

where such systems exist but boundaries are

not readily discernable, each optional unit

must be located in a separate farm identified

by a single FSA Farm Serial Number.

(ii) Optional Units on Acreage Including

Both Irrigated and Non-irrigated Practices: In
Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 70 / Friday, April 11, 1997 / Proposed Rules 17761

addition to, or instead of, establishing

optional units by section, section equivalent,

or FSA Farm Serial Number, optional units

may be based on irrigated acreage and nonirrigated acreage (in those counties where

‘‘non-irrigated’’ practice is allowed in the

actuarial table) if both are located in the same

section, section equivalent, or FSA Farm

Serial Number. To qualify as separate

irrigated and non-irrigated optional units, the

non-irrigated acreage may not continue into

the irrigated acreage in the same rows or

planting pattern. The irrigated acreage may

not extend beyond the point at which the

irrigation system can deliver the quantity of

water needed to produce the yield on which

the guarantee is based, except the corners of

a field in which a center-pivot irrigation

system is used will be considered as irrigated

acreage if separate acceptable records of

production from the corners are not

provided. If the corners of a field in which

a center-pivot irrigation system is used do

not qualify as a separate non-irrigated

optional unit, they will be a part of the unit

containing the irrigated acreage. Nonirrigated acreage that is not a part of a field

in which a center-pivot irrigation system is

used may qualify as a separate optional unit

provided that all other requirements of this

section are met.

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), you may select

only one price election for all the safflower

in the county insured under this policy

unless the Special Provisions provide

different price elections by type, in which

case you may select one price election for

each safflower type designated in the Special

Provisions. The price elections you choose

for each type must have the same percentage

relationship to the maximum price offered by

us for each type. For example, if you choose

100 percent of the maximum price election

for one type, you must also choose 100

percent of the maximum price election for all

other types.

4. Contract Changes

In accordance with section 4 (Contract

Changes) of the Basic Provisions (§ 457.8),

the contract change date is August 31

preceding the cancellation date for

California, and December 31 preceding the

cancellation date for all other states.

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:

State

Cancellation

and termination dates

California .............................. December 31.

All other states ..................... March 15.

6. Insured Crop

In accordance with section 8 (Insured

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

crop insured will be all safflower in the

county for which a premium rate is provided

by the actuarial table:

(a) In which you have a share;

(b) That is planted for harvest as safflower;

(c) That is not (unless allowed by the

Special Provisions or by written agreement):

(1) Interplanted with another crop; or

(2) Planted into an established grass or

legume.

7. Insurable Acreage

In addition to the provisions of section 9

(Insurable Acreage) of the Basic Provisions

(§ 457.8), we will not insure:

(a) Safflower planted on land on which

safflower, sunflower seed, any variety of dry

beans, soybeans, mustard, rapeseed, or lentils

were grown the preceding crop year, unless

other rotation requirements are specified in

the Special Provisions or we agree in writing

to insure such acreage; or

(b) Any acreage of safflower damaged

before the final planting date, to the extent

that the majority of producers in the area

would normally not further care for the crop,

unless the crop is replanted or we agree that

it is not practical to replant.

8. Insurance Period

In accordance with the provisions of

section 11 (Insurance Period) of the Basic

Provisions (§ 457.8), the calendar date for the

end of the insurance period is October 31

immediately following planting.

9. Causes of Loss

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:

(a) Adverse weather conditions;

(b) Fire;

(c) Insects, but not damage due to

insufficient or improper application of pest

control measures;

(d) Plant disease, but not damage due to

insufficient or improper application of

disease control measures;

(e) Wildlife;

(f) Earthquake;

(g) Volcanic eruption; or

(h) Failure of the irrigation water supply,

if caused by an insured cause of loss that

occurs during the insurance period.

10. Replanting Payment

(a) In accordance with section 13

(Replanting Payment) of the Basic Provisions

(§ 457.8), a replanting payment is allowed if

the crop is damaged by an insurable cause of

loss to the extent that the remaining stand

will not produce at least 90 percent of the

production guarantee for the acreage and it

is practical to replant.

(b) The maximum amount of the replanting

payment per acre will be the lesser of 20

percent of the production guarantee or 160

pounds, multiplied by your price election,

multiplied by your insured share.

(c) When safflower is replanted using a

practice that is uninsurable as an original

planting, the liability on the unit will be

reduced by the amount of the replanting

payment. The premium amount will not be

reduced.

11. Duties in the Event of Damage or Loss

In accordance with the requirements of

section 14 (Duties in the Event of Damage or

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

representative samples of the unharvested

crop must be at least 10 feet wide and extend

the entire length of each field in the unit. The

samples must not be harvested or destroyed

until the earlier of our inspection or 15 days

after harvest of the balance of the unit is

completed.

12. 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 unit, we will combine

all optional units for which such production

records were not provided; or

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

commingled production to such units in

proportion to our liability on the harvested

acreage for the unit.

(b) In the event of loss or damage covered

by this policy, we will settle your claim by:

(1) Multiplying the insured acreage by its

respective production guarantee;

(2) Multiplying each result in section

12(b)(1) by the respective price election;

(3) Totaling the results in section 12(b)(2);

(4) Multiplying the total production to be

counted of each type if applicable, (see

section 12(c)) by the respective price

election;

(5) Totaling the results in section 12(b)(4);

(6) Subtracting the total from the total in

section 12(b)(5) from the total in section

12(b)(3); and

(7) Multiplying the result in section

12(b)(6) by your share.

(c) The total production to count (in

pounds) from all insurable acreage on the

unit will include:

(1) All appraised production as follows:

(i) Not less than the production guarantee

for acreage:

(A) That is abandoned;

(B) Put to another use without our consent;

(C) That is damaged solely by uninsured

causes; or

(D) For which you fail to provide

acceptable production records;

(ii) Production lost due to uninsured

causes;

(iii) Unharvested production (mature

unharvested production may be adjusted for

quality deficiencies and excess moisture in

accordance with section 12(d)); and

(iv) Potential production on insured

acreage that you intend to put to another use

or abandon, if you and we agree on the

appraised amount of production. Upon such

agreement, the insurance period for that

acreage will end when you put the acreage

to another use or abandon the crop. If

agreement on the appraised amount of

production is not reached:

(A) If you do not elect to continue to care

for the crop, we may give you consent to put

the acreage to another use if you agree to

leave intact, and provide sufficient care for,

representative samples of the crop in

locations acceptable to us. (The amount of

production to count for such acreage will be

based on the harvested production or

appraisals from the samples at the time
17762 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 70 / Friday, April 11, 1997 / Proposed Rules

harvest should have occurred. If you do not

leave the required samples intact, or fail to

provide sufficient care for the samples, our

appraisal made prior to giving you consent to

put the acreage to another use will be used

to determine the amount of production to

count.); or

(B) If you elect to continue to care for the

crop, the amount of production to count for

the acreage will be the harvested production,

or our reappraisal if additional damage

occurs and the crop is not harvested; and

(2) All harvested production from the

insurable acreage.

(d) Mature safflower may be adjusted for

excess moisture and quality deficiencies. If

moisture adjustment is applicable, it will be

made prior to any adjustment for quality.

(1) Production will be reduced by 0.12

percent for each 0.1 percentage point of

moisture in excess of 8 percent. We may

obtain samples of the production to

determine the moisture content.

(2) Production will be eligible for quality

adjustment if such production:

(i) Has a test weight below 35 pounds per

bushel;

(ii) Has seed damage in excess of 25

percent; or

(iii) Contains substances or conditions that

are identified by the Food and Drug

Administration or other public health

organizations of the United States as being

injurious to human or animal health.

(3) Quality will be a factor in determining

your loss only if:

(i) The deficiencies, substances, or

conditions resulted from a cause of loss

against which insurance is provided under

these crop provisions and that occurred

within the insurance period;

(ii) The deficiencies, substances, or

conditions result in a net price for damaged

production that is less than the local market

price;

(iii) All determinations of these

deficiencies, substances, or conditions are

made using samples of the production

obtained by us or by a disinterested third

party approved by us; and

(iv) The samples are analyzed by a grader

licensed to grade safflower under the

authority of the Agricultural Marketing Act

or the United States Warehouse Act with

regard to deficiencies in quality, or by a

laboratory approved by us with regard to

substances or conditions injurious to human

or animal health. Test weight for quality

adjustment purposes may be determined by

our loss adjuster.

(4) Safflower production that is eligible for

quality adjustment, as specified in sections

12(d)(2) and (3), will be reduced as follows:

(i) In accordance with the qualifying

adjustment factor provisions contained in the

Special Provisions; or

(ii) If quality adjustment factor provisions

are not contained in the Special Provisions:

(A) Determine the value per pound of

damaged safflower and the local market price

of undamaged safflower on the earlier of the

date such quality adjusted production is sold

or the date of final inspection for the unit.

Discounts used to establish the net price of

the damaged production will be limited to

those which are usual, customary, and

reasonable. The price will not be reduced for:

(1) Moisture content;

(2) Damage due to uninsured causes; or

(3) Drying, handling, processing, or any

other costs associated with normal

harvesting, handling, and marketing of

safflower. (We may obtain prices from any

buyer of our choice. If we obtain prices from

one or more buyers located outside your local

market area, we will reduce such prices by

the additional costs required to deliver the

production to those buyers.)

(B) Divide the price per pound of damaged

safflower by the local market price per pound

of undamaged safflower to determine the

quality adjustment factor; and

(C) Multiply the adjustment factor by the

number of pounds of the damaged

production remaining after any reduction

due to excessive moisture to determine the

net production to count.

(e) Any production harvested from other

plants growing in the insured crop may be

counted as production of the insured crop on

a weight basis.

13. Written Agreements

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

13(e);

(b) The application for a written agreement

must contain all variable terms of the

contract between you and us that will be in

effect if the written agreement is not

approved;

(c) If approved by us, the written

agreement will include all variable terms of

the contract, including, but not limited to,

crop type or variety, the guarantee, premium

rate, and price election;

(d) Each written 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 a written agreement

submitted after the sales closing date may be

approved if, after a 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, D.C., on April 4,

1997.

Kenneth D. Ackerman,

Manager, Federal Crop Insurance

Corporation.

[FR Doc. 97–9421 Filed 4–10–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–FA–P

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Coast Guard

33 CFR Part 117

[CGD01–97–022]

RIN 2115–AE47

Drawbridge Operation Regulations;

Manchester Harbor, Massachusetts

AGENCY: Coast Guard, DOT.

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking.

SUMMARY: The Coast Guard proposes to

change the operating rules for the

Massachusetts Bay Transportation

Authority (MBTA) Bridge (formerly the

Boston and Maine railroad bridge), over

Manchester Harbor, in Manchester,

Massachusetts. The mariners located

upstream of the bridge and the

Manchester Harbormaster have

requested longer operating hours during

the boating season. This proposed

change would require the bridge to be

crewed for eight additional hours each

day from Memorial Day through the end

of September.

DATES: Comments must be received on

or before May 12, 1997.

ADDRESSES: Comments should be

mailed to Commander (obr), First Coast

Guard District, Bldg. 135A, Governors

Island, New York, N.Y. 10004–5073.

The telephone number is (212) 668–

7165. Comments will become part of

this docket and will be available for

inspection or copying at the above

address.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Joe Arca, Supervisory Bridge

Management Specialist, (212) 668–7069.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Request for Comments

The Coast Guard encourages

interested persons to participate in this

rulemaking by submitting written data,

views, or arguments. Persons submitting

comments should include their names

and addresses, identify this notice

(CGD01–97–022), the specific section of

the proposal to which their comments

apply, and give reasons for each

comment. Persons wanting

acknowledgment of receipt of comments

should enclose a stamped, selfaddressed post card or envelope.

The Coast Guard will consider all

comments received during the comment

period. It may change this proposal in

view of comments. The Coast Guard

plans no public hearing; however,

persons may request a public hearing by

writing to the address under ADDRESSES.

If it is determined that the opportunity

for oral presentations will aid this