7 U.S.C. § 9013 (AGRICULTURE)
§ 9013. Payment yields
(a) Establishment and purpose
For the purpose of making price loss coverage payments under section 9016 of this title, the Secretary shall provide for the establishment of a yield for each farm for any designated oilseed for which a payment yield was not established under section 8712 of this title in accordance with this section.
(b) Payment yields for designated oilseeds
(1) Determination of average yield
In the case of oilseeds designated before December 20, 2018, the Secretary shall determine the average yield per planted acre for the designated oilseed on a farm for the 1998 through 2001 crop years, excluding any crop year in which the acreage planted to the designated oilseed was zero.
(2) Adjustment for payment yield
(A) In general
The payment yield for a farm for an oilseed designated before December 20, 2018, shall be equal to the product of the following:
(i) The average yield for the designated oilseed determined under paragraph (1).
(ii) The ratio resulting from dividing the national average yield for the designated oilseed for the 1981 through 1985 crops by the national average yield for the designated oilseed for the 1998 through 2001 crops.
(B) No national average yield information available
To the extent that national average yield information for an oilseed designated before December 20, 2018, is not available, the Secretary shall use such information as the Secretary determines to be fair and equitable to establish a national average yield under this section.
(3) Use of county average yield
If the yield per planted acre for a crop of an oilseed designated before December 20, 2018, for a farm for any of the 1998 through 2001 crop years was less than 75 percent of the county yield for that designated oilseed, the Secretary shall assign a yield for that crop year equal to 75 percent of the county yield for the purpose of determining the average under paragraph (1).
(4) Treatment of oilseeds designated after certain date
In the case of oilseeds designated on or after December 20, 2018, the payment yield shall be equal to 90 percent of the average of the yield per planted acre for the most recent 5 crop years, as determined by the Secretary, excluding any crop year in which the acreage planted to the covered commodity was zero.
(c) Effect of lack of payment yield
(1) Establishment by Secretary
In the case of a covered commodity on a farm for which base acres have been established or that is planted on generic base acres, if no payment yield is otherwise established for the covered commodity on the farm, the Secretary shall establish an appropriate payment yield for the covered commodity on the farm under paragraph (2).
(2) Use of similarly situated farms
To establish an appropriate payment yield for a covered commodity on a farm as required by paragraph (1), the Secretary shall take into consideration the farm program payment yields applicable to that covered commodity for similarly situated farms. The use of such data in an appeal, by the Secretary or by the producer, shall not be subject to any other provision of law.
(d) Single opportunity to update yields
(1) Election to update
At the sole discretion of the owner of a farm, the owner of a farm shall have a 1-time opportunity to update, on a covered-commodity-by-covered-commodity basis, the payment yield that would otherwise be used in calculating any price loss coverage payment for each covered commodity on the farm for which the election is made.
(2) Method of updating yields for covered commodities
If the owner of a farm elects to update yields under paragraph (1), the payment yield for a covered commodity on the farm, for the purpose of calculating price loss coverage payments only, shall be equal to the product obtained by multiplying—
(A) 90 percent;
(B) the average of the yield per planted acre for the crop of covered commodities on the farm for the 2013 through 2017 crop years, as determined by the Secretary, excluding any crop year in which the acreage planted to the covered commodity was zero; and
(C) subject to paragraph (3), the ratio obtained by dividing—
(i) the average of the 2008 through 2012 national average yield per planted acre for the covered commodity, as determined by the Secretary; by
(ii) the average of the 2013 through 2017 national average yield per planted acre for the covered commodity, as determined by the Secretary.
(3) Limitation
In no case shall the ratio obtained under paragraph (2)(C) be less than 90 percent or greater than 100 percent.
(4) Use of county average yield
For the purposes of determining the average yield per planted acre under paragraph (2)(B), if the yield per planted acre for a crop of a covered commodity for a farm for any of the crop years described in that subparagraph was less than 75 percent of the average of county yields for those crop years for that commodity, the Secretary shall assign a yield for that crop year equal to 75 percent of the average of the 2013 through 2017 county yield for the covered commodity.
(5) Upland cotton conversion
In the case of seed cotton, for purposes of determining the average of the yield per planted acre under this subsection, the average yield for seed cotton per planted acre shall be equal to 2.4 times the average yield for upland cotton per planted acre.
(6) Time for election
An election under this subsection shall be made at a time and manner so as to be in effect beginning with the 2020 crop year, as determined by the Secretary.
(e) Payment yield for seed cotton
(1) Payment yield
Subject to paragraph (2), the payment yield for seed cotton for a farm shall be equal to 2.4 times the payment yield for upland cotton for the farm established under section 8714(e)(3) of this title (as in effect on September 30, 2013).
(2) Update
At the sole discretion of the owner of a farm with a yield for upland cotton described in paragraph (1), the owner of the farm shall have a 1-time opportunity to update the payment yield for upland cotton for the farm, as provided in subsection (d), for the purpose of calculating the payment yield for seed cotton under paragraph (1).
(Pub. L. 113–79, title I, § 1113, Feb. 7, 2014, 128 Stat. 664; Pub. L. 115–123, div. F, § 60101(a)(4), Feb. 9, 2018, 132 Stat. 308; Pub. L. 115–334, title I, § 1103, Dec. 20, 2018, 132 Stat. 4501.)
heading: Amendments
text: 2018—Subsec. (b)(1). Pub. L. 115–334, § 1103(a)(1), substituted “oilseeds designated before December 20, 2018” for “designated oilseeds”.
Subsec. (b)(2), (3). Pub. L. 115–334, § 1103(a)(2), substituted “an oilseed designated before December 20, 2018,” for “a designated oilseed” wherever appearing.
Subsec. (b)(4). Pub. L. 115–334, § 1103(a)(3), added par. (4).
Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 115–334, § 1103(b), added subsec. (d) and struck out former subsec. (d) which consisted of pars. (1) to (4) relating to election to update payment yield, time for election, method of updating yields, and use of county average yield, respectively.
Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 115–123 added subsec. (e).
heading: Effective Date of 2018 Amendment
text: Amendment by Pub. L. 115–123 applicable beginning with the 2018 crop year, see section 60101(a)(13) of Pub. L. 115–123, set out as a note under section 9011 of this title.