1996 Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 4 / Friday, January 6, 1995 / Rules and Regulations

APPENDIX 3—CERTAIN ARTICLES SUBJECT TO THE SUPPLEMENTARY LICENSING PROVISIONS OF IMPORT REGULATION 1,

REVISION 7, AND RESPECTIVE ANNUAL TARIFF-RATE IMPORT QUOTAS FOR 1995—Continued

Article by HTS Annual Note No.

Annual Supplementary quota

(kilograms)

Edam and Gouda cheese, and cheese and substitutes for cheese, containing, or processed from, Edam and Gouda

Cheese (Note 20) ................................................................................................................................................................. 210,000

Argentina ........................................................................................................................................................................... 110,000

Czech Republic ................................................................................................................................................................. 100,000

Italian-Type cheese made from cow’s milk (Romano made from cow’s milk, Reggiano, Parmesano, Provolone,

Provolette, Sbrinz, and Goya not in original loaves) and cheese and substitutes for cheese containing, or processed

from, such Italian-type cheese, whether or not in original loaves (Note 21) ....................................................................... 3,123,333

Argentina ........................................................................................................................................................................... 1,890,000

Uruguay ............................................................................................................................................................................. 750,000

Hungary ............................................................................................................................................................................. 400,000

Romania ............................................................................................................................................................................ 83,333

Swiss-Emmenthaler cheese with eye formation (Note 25) ...................................................................................................... 800,000

Czech Republic ................................................................................................................................................................. 400,000

Hungary ............................................................................................................................................................................. 400,000

Signed at Washington, D.C., on December

27, 1994.

Mike Espy,

Secretary of Agriculture.

[FR Doc. 95–298 Filed 1–3–95; 3:51 pm]

BILLING CODE 3410–10–P

Federal Crop Insurance Corporation

7 CFR Part 400

Subpart T—Federal Crop Insurance

Reform Act of 1994; Regulations for

Implementation

RIN 0563–AB11

AGENCY: Federal Crop Insurance

Corporation.

ACTION: Interim rule.

SUMMARY: The Federal Crop Insurance

Corporation (‘‘FCIC’’) hereby amends its

General Administrative Regulations

located at 7 CFR part 400 by adding

subpart T. The intended effect of this

interim rule is to provide noninsured

producers, policyholders and insurance

companies the policies and regulations

applicable to the Catastrophic Risk

Protection Program and provide other

changes in FCIC insurance programs to

comply with the statutory mandates of

the Federal Crop Insurance Act as

amended by the Federal Crop Insurance

Reform Act of 1994.

DATES: This rule is effective January 6,

1995. Written comments, data, and

opinions on this rule will be accepted

until close of business March 7, 1995

and will be considered when the rule is

to be made final.

ADDRESSES: Written comments, data,

and opinion on this interim rule should

be sent to Diana Moslak, Regulatory and

Procedural Development Staff, Federal

Crop Insurance Corporation, USDA,

Washington, D.C. 20250. Hand or

messenger delivery may be made to

Suite 500, 2101 L Street, N.W.,

Washington D.C. Written comments will

be available for public inspection and

copying in the Office of the Manager,

2101 L Street, N.W., 5th Floor,

Washington, D.C., during regular

business hours, Monday through Friday.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For

further information and a copy of the

Regulatory Impact Analysis to the

regulations for implementation of the

Federal Crop Insurance Reform Act of

1994, contact Diana Moslak, Federal

Crop Insurance Corporation, U.S.

Department of Agriculture, Washington,

D.C. 20250. Telephone (202) 254–8314.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This

action has been reviewed under United

States Department of Agriculture

(‘‘USDA’’) procedures established by

Executive Order 12866 and

Departmental Regulation 1512–1. This

action constitutes a review as to the

need, currency, clarity, and

effectiveness of these regulations under

those procedures. The sunset review

date established for these regulations is

December 1, 1999.

This rule has been determined to be

‘‘economically significant’’ for the

purposes of Executive Order 12866, and

therefore, has been reviewed by the

Office of Management and Budget

(‘‘OMB’’).

A Regulatory Impact Analysis has

been completed and is available to

interested persons at the address listed

above. In summary, the analysis finds

that crop insurance reform generally is

expected to result in net positive

benefits to producers, taxpayers, and

society. The effects on individual

producers compared to payments under

ad hoc disaster programs depends

primarily on the farm program payment

yield compared to the farm’s actual

yield and market prices. In general,

however, the reform is expected to

result in less volatility of producer’s

incomes and lesser risk of no income

due to adverse weather events. Rural

communities and farmers will benefit

from the certainty of payments in times

of catastrophic yield losses. The

Government and taxpayers will benefit

from a single disaster protection

program and consequent reduced

Federal outlays. Although some

producers (previous non-participants in

crop insurance) will have an added

burden to make application and report

yields and acreage, the benefits in terms

of greater risk protection outweigh the

costs.

The information collection and

record-keeping requirements set forth in

this interim rule have been submitted to

OMB for emergency clearance under 7

CFR part 402.

It has been determined under section

6(a) of Executive Order 12612,

Federalism, that this rule does not have

sufficient federalism implication to

warrant the preparation of a Federalism

Assessment. The provisions and

procedures 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.

Under the Regulatory Flexibility Act

(5 U.S.C. § 605), this regulation will not

have a significant impact on a

substantial number of small entities.

Producers will be able to certify to their

historical production levels at the time

of application based on existing records,

or they may elect to base their insurance

on assigned yields, which will not

require maintenance of production

records by the insurance agent. The
Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 4 / Friday, January 6, 1995 / Rules and Regulations 1997

amount of data collected by the agent

for new insureds is not greater than the

amount of data collected for existing

insureds. Insureds may elect to keep

production records to increase the

amount of production covered by

insurance but such production is not

required to participate in the program.

The benefits in terms of risk reduction

and protection from severe losses will

out-weigh any record-keeping costs.

Therefore, this action is determined to

be exempt from the provisions of the

Regulatory Flexibility Act and no

Regulatory Flexibility Analysis was

prepared.

This program is listed in the Catalog

of Federal Domestic Assistance under

No. 10.450.

This program is not subject to the

provisions of Executive Order 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.

The Office of the General Counsel has

determined that these regulations meet

the applicable standards provided in

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

Order 12778. 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

located at 7 CFR part 400, subpart J, and

for catastrophic risk protection contracts

of insurance delivered through local

USDA offices, the National Appeal

Division administrative appeal

provisions under the Department of

Agriculture Reorganization Act of 1994

must be exhausted before judicial action

may be brought.

This action is not expected to have

any significant impact on the quality of

the human environment, health, and

safety. Therefore, neither an

Environmental Assessment nor an

Environmental Impact Statement is

needed.

This interim rule implements

programs mandated by the amendments

to the Federal Crop Insurance Act by the

Federal Crop Insurance Reform Act of

1994. Those amendments required that

the statutory changes be implemented

for the 1995 crop year. All of the

contract change dates and many of the

sales closing dates for 1995 insured

crops have passed or will soon pass.

Many of the changes contained in these

regulations are mandated by statute.

Planting decisions for 1995 crops have

been or will shortly be made and it is

necessary that producers, lenders, and

suppliers know the parameters and

requirements of the program. Therefore,

it is impractical and contrary to the

public interest to publish this rule for

notice and comment prior to making the

rule effective. However, comments are

solicited for 60 days after the date of

publication in the Federal Register and

will be considered by FCIC before this

rule is made final.

On October 13, 1994, the amendments

to the Federal Crop Insurance Act made

by the Federal Crop Insurance Reform

Act of 1994, were effective. This

regulation will provide the policy and

procedures to carry out the insurance

requirements of the Reform Act. A

separate part will be issued to address

noninsured assistance.

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 400,

Subpart T

General administrative regulations,

Federal Crop Insurance Reform Act of

1994, Insurance.

Interim Rule

For the reasons set out in the

preamble, a new subpart T is added to

7 CFR part 400, effective for the 1995

and succeeding crop years, to read as

follows:

PART 400—GENERAL

ADMINISTRATIVE REGULATIONS

Subpart T—Federal Crop Insurance

Reform Act of 1994, Insurance

Implementation; Regulations for the

1995 and Subsequent Crop Years

Sec.

400.650 Purpose.

400.651 Definitions.

400.652 Insurance availability.

400.653 Application and acreage report.

400.654 Coverage provided.

400.655 Administrative fees and waivers.

400.656 Eligibility for other program

benefits.

400.657 Coverage for acreage that is

prevented from being planted.

400.658 Transitional yield for forage or feed

crops, 1995–1997 crop years.

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

§ 400.650 Purpose.

The Federal Crop Insurance Act as

amended by the Federal Crop Insurance

Reform Act of 1994 (the ‘‘Act’’) requires

the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation

(‘‘FCIC’’) to implement a crop insurance

program which offers several levels of

insurance coverage for producers. These

levels of protection include catastrophic

risk protection, limited coverage and

additional coverage insurance. This

subpart provides notice of the

availability of these new crop insurance

options and establishes provisions and

requirements for implementation of the

insurance provisions of the Act. The

regulations for the noninsured

assistance provisions of the Act will be

published elsewhere in chapter IV.

§ 400.651 Definitions.

(a) Additional coverage—A plan of

crop insurance providing a level of

coverage equal to or greater than sixtyfive percent (65%) of the approved yield

indemnified at one-hundred percent

(100%) of the expected market price or

comparable coverage as established by

FCIC.

(b) Approved insurance provider—A

private insurance company, including

their agents, that has been approved and

reinsured by FCIC to provide insurance

coverage to producers participating in

the Federal crop insurance program.

(c) Approved yield—The average

amount of production per acre obtained

under FCIC’s Actual Production History

Program (7 CFR part 400, subpart G)

using production records of the insured

or yields assigned by FCIC. At least four

crop years of yields must be averaged to

obtain the approved yield.

(d) Catastrophic risk protection

endorsement—The part of the crop

insurance policy that contains

provisions of insurance that are specific

to catastrophic risk protection.

(e) Catastrophic risk protection—The

minimal level of coverage offered by

FCIC, which is required before a person

may qualify for certain other United

States Department of Agriculture

(‘‘USDA’’) program benefits. For the

1995 through 1998 crop years, such

coverage will be equal to fifty percent

(50%) of the approved yield

indemnified at sixty percent (60%) of

the expected market price, or a

comparable coverage as established by

FCIC. For the 1999 and subsequent crop

years, such coverage will be equal to

fifty percent (50%) of the approved

yield indemnified at fifty-five percent

(55%) of the expected market price, or

a comparable coverage as established by

FCIC.

(f) Crop of economic significance—A

crop that has either contributed in the

previous crop year, or is expected to

contribute in the current crop year, ten

percent (10%) or more of the total

expected value of your share of all crops

grown by the producer in the county.

However, notwithstanding the

preceding sentence, if the total expected

liability under the catastrophic risk

protection endorsement is equal to or

less than the administrative fee required

for the crop, such crop will not be

considered a crop of economic

significance.

(g) FCIC—The Federal Crop Insurance

Corporation, a wholly owned

Government Corporation within the
1998 Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 4 / Friday, January 6, 1995 / Rules and Regulations

Consolidated Farm Services Agency,

USDA.

(h) Limited coverage—A plan of

insurance offering coverage that is equal

to or greater than fifty percent (50%) of

the approved yield indemnified at one

hundred percent (100%) of the expected

market price, or a comparable coverage

as established by FCIC, but less than

sixty-five percent (65%) of the approved

yield indemnified at one hundred

percent (100%) of the expected market

price, or a comparable coverage as

established by FCIC.

(i) Limited resource farmer—A

producer or operator of a small or family

farm, including a new producer or

operator, with an annual gross income

of less than $20,000 derived from all

sources of revenue for each of the prior

two years and who demonstrates a need

to maximize farm income.

Notwithstanding the preceding

sentence, a producer on a farm of less

than 25 acres aggregated for all crops,

where the producer derives a majority of

the producer’s gross income from the

farm, but the producer’s gross income

from farming operations does not

exceed $20,000, will be considered a

limited resource farmer.

(j) Person—An individual,

partnership, association, corporation,

estate, trust, or other legal entity, and

wherever applicable, a state or a

political subdivision or agency of a

state.

(k) Secretary—The Secretary of the

United States Department of

Agriculture.

§ 400.652 Insurance availability.

(a) If sufficient actuarial data are

available FCIC will offer catastrophic

risk protection, limited, and additional

coverage plans of insurance to

indemnify persons for FCIC insured or

reinsured crop loss due to loss of yield

or prevented planting, if the crop loss or

prevented planting is due to an insured

cause of loss specified in the applicable

crop insurance policy.

(b) Catastrophic risk protection

coverage will be offered through

approved insurance providers and

through local offices of the Consolidated

Farm Service Agency, USDA. Limited

and additional coverage will only be

offered through approved insurance

providers unless approved insurance

providers are not available.

(c) To obtain catastrophic risk

protection coverage on a crop, a person

must obtain catastrophic risk protection

coverage for the crop on all insurable

acreage in the county. Catastrophic risk

protection coverage must be obtained on

or before the sales closing date

designated by FCIC for the crop in the

county.

(d) Effective for the 1995 crop year

only, and only for catastrophic risk

protection, notwithstanding any

provision in any crop insurance policy,

reinsured by FCIC, the sales closing

dates will be as follows:

(1) For those crops for which

insurance attached before January 1,

1995, the sales closing date will be the

latest sales closing date for spring

planted crops in the county as long as

such sales closing date is not later than

April 12, 1995;

(2) For those crops for which

insurance attached after January 1, 1995,

and have a sales closing date prior to

February 15, 1995, the sales closing date

will be February 15, 1995; and

(3) For all other spring planted crops,

the sales closing date will remain as

specified in the policy.

(e) For limited and additional

coverage, in areas where insurance is

not available for a particular agricultural

commodity, FCIC may offer to enter into

a written agreement with a person to

insure the commodity, if the person has

actuarially sound data relating to the

production of the commodity that is

acceptable to FCIC and if such written

agreement is specifically allowed by the

crop insurance regulations applicable to

the crop.

(f) A person who made timely

purchase of a crop insurance policy on

a 1995 or subsequent crop before

October 13, 1994, the date of enactment

of the Federal Crop Insurance Reform

Act of 1994, may continue with the

purchased policy under the terms and

conditions of that policy but will

receive whatever benefits would be

available under that policy if it had been

purchased subsequent to the date of

enactment. However, if the level of

coverage is less than the coverage under

the catastrophic risk protection

coverage, the insured must either

upgrade that coverage to at least

catastrophic risk protection coverage or

lose eligibility for certain farm program

benefits as set out in § 400.656.

§ 400.653 Application and acreage report.

(a) To participate in catastrophic risk

protection, limited, or additional

coverage plans of insurance, a person

must submit an application for

insurance on or before the applicable

sales closing date.

(b) In order to remain eligible for

certain farm programs, as set out in

§ 400.656, a producer must obtain at

least catastrophic risk protection

coverage on all crops of economic

significance if catastrophic risk

protection is available. Notwithstanding

the requirement contained in § 400.653

(a), if the insured is not able to plant a

crop for which coverage has been

obtained, FCIC may, at its discretion,

determine that conditions exist that

would permit the person to insure

alternative crops to those specified on

the application. If FCIC determines that

such conditions exist, the insured may

insure the alternative crops by making

application for catastrophic risk

protection coverage on the alternative

crops after the sales closing date but

before the acreage reporting date for the

alternative crops and paying the

appropriate administrative fee. Limited

or additional coverage is not available

after the sales closing date.

(c) For catastrophic risk protection,

limited, and additional coverage, FCIC

may allow the insured to certify the

insured’s actual production history

(‘‘APH’’) yield. If FCIC permits

certification of the APH yield by the

insured, the insured must, at the request

of FCIC or the approved insurance

provider, provide verifiable records of

acreage and production acceptable to

FCIC for the years for which production

and acreage were certified. If FCIC or

the approved insurance provider

determine that inadequate records exist

to substantiate the certified yield, FCIC

will, in addition to any civil fraud or

criminal penalties which may exist for

false certification, recalculate the APH

yield using assigned yields for the crop

years represented by the inadequate

records.

(d) For all coverages including

catastrophic risk protection, limited,

and additional coverages, the insured

must file a signed acreage report on or

before the acreage reporting date.

§ 400.654 Coverage provided.

(a) The specific causes of loss insured

against are designated in the crop

insurance policy for the applicable crop.

(b) An indemnity paid to a producer

may be reduced to reflect out-of-pocket

expenses that were not incurred by the

producer as a result of not planting,

caring for, or harvesting the crop.

(c) Catastrophic risk protection.

(1) A person who is eligible to receive

an indemnity under a catastrophic risk

protection plan of insurance and is also

eligible to receive benefits for the same

loss under other USDA programs must

elect the program from which they wish

to receive benefits. Only one payment or

program benefit will be allowed.

(2) Catastrophic risk protection must

be elected on a crop basis unless the

Catastrophic Risk Protection

Endorsement allows individual crop

types or varieties to be considered

separate crops. However, any acreage of
Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 4 / Friday, January 6, 1995 / Rules and Regulations 1999

an insured crop that is designated by

FCIC as ‘‘high risk land’’ may be insured

under catastrophic risk protection if

limited or additional coverage is

obtained for all insurable acreage of the

insured crop in the county that is not

designated as ‘‘high risk land’’; Provided

that, the insured executes the High Risk

Land Exclusion Option under the

limited or additional coverage policy.

The catastrophic risk protection policy

must be obtained from the same

insurance provider from which the

limited or additional coverage is

obtained.

(3) Catastrophic risk protection may,

on a commodity-by-commodity basis, be

elected on an individual yield and loss

basis, or, where offered, may be elected

on an area yield and loss basis.

(4) Any person who has a bona fide

insurable interest in a crop as an owneroperator, landlord, tenant, or sharecropper, will be eligible for catastrophic

risk protection coverage.

(5) The Catastrophic Risk Protection

Endorsement contains coverage

limitations and exclusions, including

but not limited to:

(i) Coverage is available by basic units

only. A basic unit is all the acreage of

the crop in the county in which the

insured has a one-hundred percent

(100%) crop share or all the acreage of

the crop in the county owned by one

person and operated by another person

on a share basis (unless otherwise

provided by the Catastrophic Risk

Protection Endorsement);

(ii) No replant payments will be paid

whether or not replanting of the crop is

required under the policy;

(iii) No policy options or

endorsements providing increased

coverage over that provided under the

catastrophic risk plan for that crop will

be available unless such option or

endorsement is specifically made

applicable to catastrophic coverage by

its terms;

(iv) The insured may not exclude

coverage for hail and fire or High Risk

Land; and

(v) Written Agreements are not

available unless specifically allowed by

the Catastrophic Risk Protection

Endorsement.

(d) Limited and additional coverage.

(1) An insured who is eligible to

receive an indemnity under a limited or

an additional coverage plan of insurance

and who is also eligible to receive

benefits for the same loss under any

other USDA program may receive

benefits under both programs unless

specifically limited by the crop

insurance policy. However, the total

amount received for the loss will not

exceed the amount of the actual loss

sustained by the insured. The amount of

the actual loss will be the difference

between the fair market value of the

production before and after the loss, as

determined by the approved insurance

provider based upon the insureds

production records.

(2) Limited and additional coverage

must be elected on a crop basis and

cover all insurable acreage of the crop

in the county in which the insured has

a share unless:

(i) The applicable crop insurance

policy allows the insured to purchase

separate policies of insurance covering

individual crop types or varieties. In

such instances, protection may be

elected on a crop type (as designated in

the crop insurance policy) or variety

basis. These individual crop types or

varieties will be considered separate

crops for insurance purposes, including

the payment of administrative fees. (For

example, if two grape varieties grown in

California are insured under a

catastrophic risk protection policy and

two varieties are insured under an

additional coverage policy, an

administrative fee will be charged for

each of the two (2) varieties under the

catastrophic risk protection policy and

an administrative fee will be charged for

each of the two (2) varieties under the

additional coverage policy. The same

rationale would allow the insured the

option to not insure a crop type or

variety. However, failure of the insured

to insure a crop type or variety which

is determined to be a crop of economic

significance would make the insured

ineligible for certain other USDA

programs.)

(ii) The insured executes the High

Risk Land Exclusion Option for a

limited or additional coverage policy. In

such cases the insured may elect to

insure the ‘‘high risk land’’ under a

catastrophic risk protection policy. If

both policies are in force, that acreage

of the crop covered under the limited or

additional coverage policy and the

acreage of the crop covered under the

catastrophic risk protection policy will

be considered as separate crops for

insurance purposes, including the

payment of administrative fees.

(3) Limited or additional coverage

may, on a commodity-by-commodity

basis, be elected on an individual yield

and loss basis, or, where offered, on an

area yield and loss basis.

(4) Hail and fire coverage may be

excluded from the covered causes of

loss in a crop policy if additional

coverage is elected.

(5) If a person purchases limited or

additional coverage for a crop, the

insured must purchase limited or

additional coverage for all insurable

acreage of that crop in the county unless

otherwise provided in this part or in the

crop insurance contract.

§ 400.655 Administrative fees and waivers.

(a) Catastrophic risk protection and

limited coverage.

(1) If the insured elects to obtain

catastrophic risk protection or limited

coverage, the insured must pay an

administrative fee each year of fifty

dollars ($50.00) per crop, per county,

not to exceed two hundred dollars

($200.00) per county, and six hundred

dollars ($600) for all counties in which

the insured has coverage. The insured

must pay this administrative fee at the

time of application for the first year, and

by the acreage reporting date for all

subsequent years that crop insurance

coverage is in effect. Payment of an

administrative fee will not be required

if the insured files a bona fide zero

acreage report on or prior to the acreage

reporting date for any year except the

year of application. If the administrative

fee is not paid at the time of application,

or by the acreage reporting date,

whichever is applicable, the crop

insurance contract will not be in effect

for the crop year for which the fee is due

and will terminate, and the person will

not be eligible for certain USDA

programs as set out in § 400.656.

(2) The administrative fee may not be

waived unless the insured qualifies as a

limited resource farmer.

(3) The administrative fee will be

refunded if the insured has previously

obtained catastrophic risk protection, or

limited coverage, paid the

administrative fee, and subsequently

purchases additional coverage for that

same crop in the same county on or

before the sales closing date.

Administrative fees will be refunded

only if the insured has not purchased

catastrophic risk protection and limited

coverage in excess of the maximum

administrative fee to be paid in the

applicable situation.

(4) The administrative fee will not be

refunded for the year of application

even if the insured files a zero acreage

report for that year.

(5) For limited coverage, the

administrative fee is in addition to the

premium amount.

(b) Additional Coverage.

(1) If additional coverage is elected,

the insured must pay, in addition to the

premium, an administrative fee of ten

dollars ($10) per crop, per county, each

year in which crop insurance coverage

remains in effect. The administrative fee

is payable at the time insurance

attaches. If the administrative fee is not

paid by the termination date set out in

the crop insurance contract, the crop
2000 Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 4 / Friday, January 6, 1995 / Rules and Regulations

insurance contract will be voided and

not have been in effect for the crop year

for which the fee is due and will

terminate, and the person failing to pay

the fee will not be or have been eligible

for certain other USDA program benefits

as set out in § 400.656 and any of those

benefits received for the crop year must

be refunded.

(2) The administrative fee for

additional coverage is not refundable

and may not be waived.

(c) When obtaining catastrophic risk

protection, limited, or additional

coverage, an insured must provide

information regarding crop insurance

coverage on any crop previously

obtained at any other local USDA office

or from an approved insurance provider,

including the date such insurance was

obtained, and the amount paid in

administrative fees. If the insured has

paid in excess of the maximum

allowable amount in administrative

fees, the insured will receive a refund of

the excess fees paid from the local

USDA office or from the approved

insurance provider that collected the

excess amount.

§ 400.656 Eligibility for other program

benefits.

The insured must obtain at least the

catastrophic risk protection level of

coverage for each crop of economic

significance in the county in which the

insured has an interest, if insurance is

available in the county for the crop, to

be eligible for:

(a) Price support and production

adjustment programs, including

tobacco, rice, extra long staple cotton,

upland cotton, feed grains, wheat,

peanuts, oilseeds, and sugar;

(b) Loans or any other USDAprovided farm credit including

guaranteed and direct farm ownership

loans, operating loans, and emergency

loans under the Consolidated Farm and

Rural Development Act; and

(c) The Conservation Reserve

Program.

§ 400.657 Coverage for acreage that is

prevented from being planted.

(a) 1994 crop year prevented planting

for all crops of wheat, feed grain, cotton,

and rice:

(1) For the 1994 crop year only, an

insured may receive compensation for

acreage that was prevented from being

planted due to major, widespread

flooding in the Midwest, or excessive

ground moisture, that occurred prior to

the spring sales closing date for the 1994

crop year.

(2) To be eligible for compensation

the insured must have:

(i) Purchased a crop insurance policy

containing prevented planting

provisions prior to the spring sales

closing date for the 1994 crop year;

(ii) Had a reasonable expectation of

planting the insured crop on acreage

that was eligible for prevented planting

coverage under the terms of the crop

insurance contract, (if it is determined

that the acreage eligible for the

prevented planting coverage under the

terms of the crop insurance policy

would have drained sufficiently to plant

the crop except for additional moisture

that occurred in the spring, the insured

will be assumed to have had a

reasonable expectation of planting the

crop absent some other intervening

cause); and

(iii) Participated in a conserving use

program established for the 1994 crop of

wheat, feed grains, upland cotton, or

rice established under the Agricultural

Act of 1949, whichever is applicable.

(3) FCIC will pay as compensation

under the prevented planting provisions

of the crop insurance policy, the

difference between:

(i) The amount of any prevented

planting payment that would have been

due under the prevented planting

provision of the 1994 crop year crop

insurance policy (prevented planting

indemnity less premium); and

(ii) The amount paid under the

conserving use program for the same

crop and acreage.

(b) 1994 crop year prevented planting

for oilseeds:

(1) If the insured satisfies the

requirements of section (a)(2) (i) and (ii),

the insured will be eligible for a

prevented planting payment on the oil

seed crop.

(2) FCIC will pay as compensation

under this prevented planting provision

the amount payable under the prevented

planting provision of the applicable

1994 crop year crop insurance policy

(prevented planting indemnity less

premium).

(c) 1995 and succeeding crop year

prevented planting coverage:

Effective for the 1995 and subsequent

crop years, the insurance period for

prevented planting for those crop

insurance policies containing prevented

planting coverage shall be extended so

that prevented planting coverage begins:

(1) On the sales closing date for the

insured crop in the county for the crop

year the application for insurance is

accepted; or

(2) For any crop year following the

crop year the application for insurance

is accepted, or for any crop year the

insurance policy is transferred to a

different insurance provider, on the

sales closing for the insured crop in the

county for the previous crop year,

provided continuous coverage has been

in effect since that date. For example: If

the insured makes application and

purchases a corn crop insurance policy

for the 1995 crop year, prevented

planting coverage will begin on the 1995

sales closing date for corn in the county.

If the corn policy remains in effect for

the 1996 crop year (is not terminated or

cancelled during or after the 1995 crop

year), or is transferred to a different

insurance provider, prevented planting

coverage for the 1996 crop began on the

1995 sales closing date.

§ 400.658 Transitional yields for forage or

feed crops for the 1995 through 1997 crop

years

(a) For the 1995 through the 1997 crop

year, insureds who produce feed or

forage may be eligible for an adjustment

in the assigned yield available under

§ 400.55(b)(1) if:

(1) The feed or forage is primarily for

on-farm use in a livestock, dairy, or

poultry operation; and

(2) The insured derives at least fifty

percent (50%) of the insured’s net farm

income from the livestock, dairy, or

poultry operation.

(b) Insureds that qualify under (a) of

this section will receive an assigned

yield, if required, under § 400.55(b)(1) of

80 percent of the T or D-Yield.

Done in Washington, D.C., on December

21, 1994.

Suzette Dittrich,

Acting Manager, Federal Crop Insurance

Corporation.

[FR Doc. 95–358 Filed 1–3–95; 3:38 pm]

BILLING CODE 3410–08–U

7 CFR Part 402

RIN 0563–AB09

Catastrophic Risk Protection

Endorsement

AGENCY: Federal Crop Insurance

Corporation.

ACTION: Interim rule.

SUMMARY: The Federal Crop Insurance

Corporation (‘‘FCIC’’) hereby adds a new

part 402 to chapter IV of title 7 of the

Code of Federal Regulations (‘‘CFR’’).

The intended effect of this interim rule

is to provide a catastrophic risk

protection plan of insurance, the lowest

level of coverage required to be

purchased by a producer to be eligible

for certain other agricultural farm

program benefits, to comply with

statutory mandates of the Federal Crop

Insurance Act as amended by the

Federal Crop Insurance Reform Act of

1994.

DATES: This rule is effective January 6,

1995. Written comments, data, and