Rice Production Act
PL 94-214 (H.R.8529), enacted 02/16/1976

PUBLIC LAW 94-214—FEB. 16, 1976 
90 STAT. 181 
Public Law 94-214 
94th Congress 
An Act 
To establish improved programs for tlie benefit of producers and consumers of 
reb- lo> 1^76 
rice. 
[H.R. 8529] 
Be it enacted hy the SeTiate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assenibled, 
Rice Production 
Act of 1975. 
SHORT TITLE 
SECTION 1. This Act may be cited as the "Rice Production Act of 7 USC 428c note. 
1976". 
TITLE 
I—RICE 
ALLOTMENTS 
AND 
PRICE 
SUPPORT 
'- "' '• 
NATIONAL ACREAGE ALLOTMENT AND ALLOCATION 
SEC. 101. Effective for the 1976 and 1977 crops of rice, section 352 
of the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938 is amended to read as 
follows: 
"SEC. 352. (a) The Secretary shall establish for each of the 1976 and 
1977 crops of rice a national acreage allotment in the amount of one 
million eight hundred thousand acres. 
"(b) The national acreage allotment for each such crop of rice 
shall be apportioned by the Secretary to farms, and in producer 
States and administrative areas, to producers on the basis of the rice 
allotments established for the 1975 crop as adjusted in accordance with 
subsection (c) of this section: Provided^ That not to exceed 1 per 
centum of the national acreage allotment apportioned within each 
State may be reserved by the State committee for (1) apportionment 
to new rice farms and new rice producers on the basis of the following 
factors: suitability of the land for the production of rice, the extent 
to which the farm operator (or produced in the case of a producer 
allotment) is dependent on income from farming for his livelihood, 
the production of rice on other farms owned, operated, or controlled 
by such person, and such other factors as the State committee deter-
mines should be considered for the purpose of establishing fair and 
equitable rice allotments; (2) making adjustments in farm allotments 
to correct inequities or to prevent hardship; and (3) making correc-
tions in farm or producer allotments. 
"(c) (1) If for any crop the total acreage planted to rice on a farm 
is less than the rice allotment for the farm (or in producer adminis-
trative areas, the producer allotments allocated to the farm), the farm 
or producer allotment used as a base for the succeeding crop shall be 
reduced by the percentage by which such planted acreage was less than 
the allotment for the farm, but such reduction shall not exceed 20 
per centum of the farm or producer allotment for the preceding crop; 
except that if not less than 90 per centum of the farm acreage allot-
ment is planted to rice, the farm shall be considered to have an acreage 
planted to rice equal to 100 per centum of such allotment. For purposes 
of this paragraph, an acreage on the farm which the Secretary deter-
mines was not planted to rice because of drought, flood, other natural 
disaster, or a condition beyond the control of the producer shall be 
7 USC 1352 note. 
7 USC 1352. 
90 STAT. 182 
PUBLIC LAW 94-214-FEB. 16, 1976 
considered to be an acreage planted to rice. For the purpose of this 
paragraph, the Secretary may permit producers of rice to have acre-
age devoted to soybeans, wheat, feed grains, sugar, castor beans, trit-
icale, oats, cotton, rye, or such other crops as the Secretary may deem 
appropriate, considered as devoted to the production of rice to such 
* 
extent and subject to such terms and conditions as the Secretary deter-
mines will not impair the effective operation of the rice program. 
"(2) If no acreage is planted (or regarded as planted) to rice for 
two consecutive crop years on any farm which had a farm acreage 
allotment for such years or for any producer which had a producer 
allotment for such years, such farm or producer shall lose it allotment. 
"(3) Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraphs (1) and (2) 
of this subsection, no farm or producer allotment shall be reduced or 
^*"" 
lost through failure to plant, if the cooperator elects not to receive 
payments for the portion of the farm or producer allotment not 
planted to which he would otherwise be entitled under the provisions 
7 use 1441. 
of section 101 (g) of the Agricultural Act of 1949. 
"(d) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, if the Secre-
tary determines for any year that, because of drought, flood, other 
natural disaster, or a condition beyond the control of the person 
involved in the production of rice, none or only part of the acres of an 
allotment can be timely planted or replanted by or for such person in 
such year, the Secretary may authorize for such year the transfer 
of the total number of such acres which are so affected to another farm 
in the same or any nearby county, but within the same administrative 
area, on which one or more persons on tlie farm from which the trans-
fer is made will be engaged in the production of rice and will share 
in the proceeds thereof, in accordance with such regulations as the 
Secretary may prescribe. Any allotment, or portion thereof, trans-
ferred under this subsection shall be regarded as planted to rice on the 
farm from which the transfer is made for purposes of establishing 
future farm allotments. For the purpose of determining the amount 
of payments and loans made under section 101(g) of the Agricultural 
Act of 1949 with regard to farms to which allotments, or portions 
thereof, are transferred imder this subsection, the Secretary shall 
establish a farm yield for any such farm for which there is no estab-
lished yield. 
"(e) (1) The Secretary shall permit the owner and operator of any 
/ 
farm for which a farm acreage allotment has been established to sell 
or lease all or any part, or the right to all or any part of such allotment, 
to any other owner or operator of a farm in the same administrative 
area, or to transfer all or any part of such allotment to any other farm 
owned or controlled by him in the same administrative area. The 
Secretary shall also permit the person for whom a producer allotment 
has been established to sell or lease all or any part of such allotment 
to any other person in the same administrative area. 
"(2) (A) If a producer in a State in which farm rice acreage allot-
ments are determined on the basis of past production of rice by the 
producer on the farm dies, his history of rice production shall be 
apportioned in the whole or in part among his heirs or devisees accord-
ing to the extent to which they may continue, or have continued, his 
farming operations, if satisfactory proof of such succession of farming 
operations is furnished the Secretary. 
PUBLIC LAW 94-214—FEB. 16, 1976 
90 STAT. 183 
"(B) Upon dissolution of a partnership in a State in which farm 
rice acreage allotments are determined on the basis of past production 
of rice by the producer on the farm, the partnership's history of rice 
production shall be divided among the partners in such proportion as 
agreed upon in writing by the partners. 
"(C) Any part of the farm rice acreage allotment on which rice 
will not be planted and which is voluntarily surrendered to the county 
committee shall be deducted from the allotment to such farm and may 
be reapportioned by the county committee to other farms in the same 
county in amounts determined by the county committee to be fair and 
reasonable. Any allotment surrendered under this subparagraph shall 
he regarded for purposes of this subsection as having been planted on 
the farm from which it was surrendered. 
"(f) Any acreage planted to rice in excess of the farm or producer 
acreage allotment in the crop years 1976 and 1977 shall not be taken 
into account in establishing farm, or producer acreage allotments in 
any year following such period.". 
~ 
PAYMENTS AND LOANS 
SEC. 102. Effective for the 1976 and 1977 crops of rice, section 101 7 USC1441 note, 
of the Agricultural Act of 1949 is amended by adding the following 7 USC 1441. 
new subsection at the end thereof: 
" (g) Notwithstanding any other provision of law— 
"(1) The established price for the purpose of making payments on 
rice under this subsection shall be $8 per hundredweight in the case 
of the 1976 crop, adjusted to reflect any changes in the index of prices 
paid by farmers for production items, interest, taxes, and wage rates 
during the period beginning on the date of enactment of the Rice 
Production Act of 1975, and ending July 31, 1976; for the 1977 crop 
the established price shall be the established price for the 1976 crop 
adjusted to reflect any changes in the index of prices paid by farmers 
., ^ 
ior production items, interest, taxes, and wage rates during the twelve-
month period immediately preceding July 31, 1977: Provided, That 
any increase that would otherwise be made in the established price 
for the 1976 and 1977 crops to reflect a change in the index of prices 
paid by farmers may be further adjusted to reflect any change in (i) 
the national average yield per acre of rice for the three calendar 
years preceding the year for which the determination is made, over 
(ii) the national average yield per acre for the three calendar years 
preceding the year previous to the one for which the determination 
is made. 
"(2) The Secretary shall make available, to cooperators in the 
several States of the United States, loans and purchases on the 1976 
crop of rice at a rate equal to $6 per hundredweight, adjusted to 
reflect any changes in the index of prices paid by farmers for pro-
duction items, interest, taxes, and wage rates during the period begin-
ning on the date of enactment of the Rice Production Act of 1975 and 
^ 
ending July 31,1976: Provided, That any increase in the rate of loans 
and purchases for the 1976 crop to reflect a change in the index of 
^ 
prices paid by farmers may be further adjusted to reflect the change 
described in the proviso in paragraph (1) of this subsection. Loans 
and purchases for the 1977 crop shall be established at such rate as 
bears the same ratio to the loan rate for the 1976 crop as the established 
price for the 1977 crop bears to the established price for the 1976 
90 STAT. 184 
PUBLIC LAW 94-214—FEB. 16, 1976 
crops. The loans and purchases for the 1976 and 1977 crops shall be 
made available to cooperators on a farm with respect to a quantity 
of rice determined by multiplying the allotment by the yield estab-
lished for the farm, as determined in the manner described in the 
second sentence of paragraph (4) of this subsection. 
"(3) The Secretary shall make available to cooperators payments 
for each of the 1976 and 1977 crops of rice grown in the several States 
of the United States at a rate equal to the amount by which the estab-
lished price for the crop of rice exceeds the higher of— 
"(A) the national average market price received by farmers 
during the first five months of the marketing year for such crop, 
as determined by the Secretary; or 
"(B) the loan level determined under paragraph (2) for such 
crop. 
" (4) The payments for the 1976 and 1977 crops shall be made avail-
able to cooperators on a farm with respect to a quantity of rice 
determined oy multiplying the allotment by the yield established for 
the farm. The yield for the farm for any year shall be determined on 
the basis of the actual yields per harvested acre for the three preceding 
years: Provided^ That the actual yields shall be adjusted by the 
Secretary for abnormal yields in any year caused by drought, flood, 
other natural disaster, or condition beyond the control of the coopera-
tor. If the Secretary determines that the persons involved in producing 
rice on a farm are prevented from planting all or any portion of the 
acreage allotments of producers on the farm or farm acreage allotment 
to rice or other nonconserving crop, because of droughts, flood, or 
other natural disaster or condition beyond the control of the producer, 
the rate of payment with regard to such acres so affected shall be the 
larger of (A) the foregoing rate, or (B) one-third of the established 
price, except that the Secretary shall make no payment pursuant to 
this sentence on a farm from which acres were transferred under 
7 use 1352. 
section 352(d) of the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938 with 
respect to the transferred acreage. If the Secretary determines that, 
because of such disaster or condition, the total quantity of rice which 
the persons involved in producing rice are able to harvest on any farm 
is less than 66% per centum of the acreage allotments of producers on 
the farm or of the farm acreage allotment times the yield of rice estab-
lished for the farm, the rate of payment for the deficiency in production 
below 100 per centum shall be the larger of (A) the foregoing rate, 
or (B) one-third of the established price. Any payment made under 
the previous two sentences with regard to acres transferred under 
section 352(d) of the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938 shall be 
calculated with respect to the farm yield established on the farm to 
which such acres were transferred. 
Set-aside of 
"(5) (A) The Secretary may provide for a set-aside of cropland for 
cropland. 
a crop of rice if he estimates (without taking into consideration the 
effect of a set-aside), that the carryover of rice for the marketing year 
beginning in the calendar year immediately following the calendar 
year in which such crop will be grown will exceed 15 per centum of 
the total supply of rice for the marketing year beginning in the calen-
dar year in which such crop will be grown. The Secretary shall make 
a preliminary determination prior to the beginning of the calendar 
year in which such crop will be grown and a final determination not 
later than April 1 of the calendar year in which such crop is grown 
of whether a set-aside shall be in effect and, if so, the acreage of crop-
PUBLIC LAW 94-214—FEB. 16, 1976 
90 STAT. 185 
land required to be set aside. The determinations and estimates on Publication in 
which thev are based shall be published in the Federal Eegister at Federal Register. 
the time they are made. If a set-aside of cropland is in effect under 
this paragraph then, as a condition of eligibility for payments, loans 
and purchases under this subsection, the cooperators must set aside 
and devote to conservation uses an acreage of cropland equal to (i) 
such percentage of the farm acreage allotment as may be specified 
by the Secretary (not to exceed 30 per centum of the farm acreage 
allotment), plus, if required by the Secretary, (ii) the acreage of 
cropland on the farm devoted in preceding years to soil conserving 
uses, as determined by the Secretary, The Secretary shall permit 
cooperators to plant and graze sweet sorghum on set-aside acreage. The 
Secretary may permit, subject to such terms and conditions as he may 
prescribe, all or any part of the set-aside acreage to be devoted to 
hay and grazing or the production of guar, sesame, safflower, sunflower, 
castor beans, mustard seed, crambe, plantago ovato, flaxseed, triticale, 
oats, rye, or other commodity, if he determines that such production is 
needed to provide an adequate supply of such commodities, is not 
likely to increase the cost of the price support program, and will 
not adversely affect farm income. 
"(B) To assist in adjusting the acreage of rice to desirable goals, Land diversion 
the Secretary may make land diversion payments, in addition to the payments, 
payments authorized in paragraph (3) of this subsection, to cooper-
ators on a farm who, to the extent prescribed by the Secretary, devote 
to approved conservation uses an acreage of cropland on the farm in 
addition to that required to be devoted under subparagraph (A) of 
this paragraph. The land diversion payments for a farm shall be at 
such rate or rates as the Secretary determines to be fair and reasonable 
- ^ 
taking into consideration the diversion undertaken by the cooperator 
and the productivity of the acreage diverted. The Secretary shall limit 
the total acreage to be diverted under agreements in any county or 
local community so as not to adversely affect the economy oi the county 
or local community. 
"(6) The rice program formulated under this subsection shall 
require the cooperators to take such measures as the Secretary may 
deem appropriate to protect the set-aside acreage and the additional 
diverted acreage from erosion, insects, weeds, and rodents. Such acre-
age may be devoted to wildlife food plots or wildlife habitat in 
conformity with standards established by the Secretary in consulta- 
*
• 
tion w^ith wildlife agencies. The Secretary may pay an appropriate 
share of the cost of practices designed to carry out the purposes of the 
foregoing sentences. The Secretary may provide for an additional 
payment on such acreage in the amount determined by the Secretary 
to be appropriate in relation to the benefit to the general public if the 
cooperator agrees to permit, without other compensation, access to all 
or such portion of the farm as the Secretary may prescribe by the 
general public, for hunting, trapping, fishing, and hiking, subject to 
applicable State and Federal regulations. 
"(7) If the operator of the farm desires to participate in the pro-
gram formulated under this subsection, he shall file his agreement to 
do so no later than such date as the Secretary may prescribe. Payments 
under this subsection shall be made available to cooperators on such 
farm only if such cooperators set aside and devote to approved soil 
conserving uses an acreage on the farm equal to the number of acres 
90 STAT. 186 
PUBLIC LAW 94-214—FEB. 16, 1976 
Regulations. 
16 use 590h. 
'Payments." 
Rules and 
regulations. 
which the operator of the farm agrees to set aside and devote to 
approved soil conserving uses, and the agreement shall so provide. The 
Secretary may, by mutual agreement with the cooperators on the farm, 
terminate or modify any such agreement entered into pursuant to this 
subsection if he determines such action necessary because of any emer-
gency created by drought or other disaster, or in order to alleviate a 
shortage in the supply of rice. 
"(8) The Secretary shall provide adequate safeguards to protect the 
interests of tenants and sharecroppers including provision for sharing, 
on a fair and equitable basis, in payments under this subsection. 
" (9) In the case in which the failure of a cooperator to comply fully 
with the terms and conditions of the program formulated under this 
subsection precludes the making of loans, purchases, and payments, the 
Secretary may, nevertheless, make such loans, purchases, and payments 
in such amounts as he determines to be equitable in relation to the 
seriousness of the default. 
"(10) The Secretary is authorized to issue such regulations as he 
determines necessary to carry out the provisions of this subsection. 
" (11) The Secretary shall carry out the program authorized by this 
subsection through the Commodity Credit Corporation. 
"(12) The provisions of subsection 8(g) of the Soil Conservation 
and Domestic Allotment Act (relating to assignment of payments) 
shall apply to payments under this subsection. 
" (13) Notwithstanding any other provision of law— 
" (A) The total amount of payments which a person shall be entitled 
to receive during a crop year under the rice program shall not exceed 
$55,000. 
-
"(B) The term 'payments' as used in this paragraph shall not 
include loans or purchases, or any part of any payment which is deter-
mined by the Secretary to represent compensation for resource adjust-
ment or public access for recreation. 
"(C) If the Secretary determines that the total amount of payments 
which will be earned by any person under the program in effect for 
any crop will be reduced under this section, the set-aside acreage for 
the farm or farms on which such persons will be sharing in payments 
earned under such program shall be reduced to such extent and in 
such manner as the Secretary determines Avill be fair and reasonable 
in relation to the amount of the payment reduction. 
"(D) The Secretary shall issue regulations defining the term 'per-
son' and prescribing such rules as he determines necessary to assure a 
fair and reasonable application of such limitation: Provided^ That the 
provisions of this paragraph which limit payments to any person shall 
not be applicable to lands owned by States, political subdivisions, or 
agencies thereof, so long as such lands are farmed primarily in the 
direct furtherance of a public function, as determined by the Secre-
tary. The rules for determining whether corporations and their stock-
holders may be considered as separate persons shall be in accordance 
with the regulations issued by the Secretary on December 18, 1970.". 
7 use 1353 note. 
7 use 1353, 
1354, 1355, 
1356. 
SUSPENSION OF MARKETING QUOTAS AND OTHER PROVISIONS 
SEC. 103. Sections 353, 354, 355, and 356 of the Agricultural Adjust-
ment Act of 1938 shall not be applicable to the 1976 and 1977 crops 
of rice. 
PUBLIC LAW 94-214—FEB. 16, 1976 
90 STAT. 187 
T I T L E I I — E I C E E E S E A R C H 
SEC. 201. (a) The Secretary of Agriculture may, under rules pre-
scribed by such Secretar;^, carry out regional and national research 
programs with regard to rice for the following purposes: 
(1) to reduce fertilizer and herbicide usage in excess of pro-
duction needs; 
(2) to develop varieties of rice more susceptible to complete 
fertilizer utilization; 
(3) to improve the resistance of rice plants to disease and to 
enhance their conservation and environmental qualities; 
(4^ to increase the usage of rice and its processing byproducts; 
(5) to develop better husbandry practices in production and 
conservation of rice; 
(6) to develop more efficient rice storage practices; 
(7) to improve domestic and international marketing of rice; 
and 
(8) to benefit the general welfare. 
(b) The Secretary shall, in implementing the program authorized 
in subsection (a), utilize the technical and related services of appro-
priate Federal, State, local governmental, and private agencies, with 
priority consideration for land grant universities, State experiment 
stations, and other agricultural institutions of higher learning. 
(c) There is authorized to be appropriated not more than $1,000,000 
for the period ending September 30, 1976, to carry out the provisions 
of this section. No funds authorized by this section shall be used for 
advertising or promotional activities. 
Rules. 
7 use 428c. 
Appropriation 
authorization. 
T I T L E 
I I I — M I S C E L L A N E O U S 
UNUSED ACREAGE ALLOTMENTS 
SEC. 301. Section 377 of the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938 
shall not be applicable to the 1976 and 1977 crops of rice. 
7 use 1377 note. 
7 use 1377. 
FINALITY OF FARMERS' PAYMENTS AND LOANS 
SEC. 302. Effective only with respect to the 1976 and 1977 crops of 
rice, section 385 of the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938 is 
amended in the first sentence thereof by inserting immediately after 
"cotton set-aside program," the following: "payments under the rice 
program authorized by section 101(g) of the Agricultural Act of 
1949,". 
DEFINITION OF COOPERATOR 
SEC. 303. Section 408(b) of the Agricultural Act of 1949 is amended 
by striking out the period at the end of the first sentence and inserting 
in lieu thereof the following: ": Provided 
further, 
That for the 1976 
and 1977 crops of rice, a cooperator shall be a person who produces 
rice on a farm for which a farm acreage allotment has been established 
or to which a producer acreage allotment has been allocated and, if a 
set-aside is in effect, who has set aside any acreage required under sec-
tion 101(g).". 
7 use 1385 note. 
7 use 1385. 
7 use 1441. 
7 use 1428. 
90 STAT. 188 
PUBLIC LAW 94-214—FEB. 16, 1976 
CONFORMING AMENDMENT 
7 use 1428 note. 
^ SEC. 304. Effective only with respect to the 1976 and 1977 crops of 
7 use 1428. 
rice, section 408 of the Agricultural Act of 1949 is amended by adding 
at the end thereof the following new subsection: 
"Reference to Terms Made Available to Rice 
7 use 1422, 
«(m) Reference made in sections 402,403,406,407, and 416 to terms 
1423, 1426, 
'support price', 'level of support', and 'level of price support' shall be 
1427, 1431. 
considered to apply as well to the level of loans and purchases for rice 
under this Act, and references made to the terms 'price support', 'price 
support operation', and 'price support program' m such sections and 
7 use 1421. 
in section 401(a) shall be considered as applying as well to the loan 
and purchase operations for such rice in this Act.". 
Approved February 16, 1976. 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY: 
HOUSE REPORT No. 94-618 (eomm. on Agriculture). 
SENATE REPORT No. 94-557 accompanying S. 2260 (eomm. on Agriculture and 
Forestry). 
eONGRESSIONAL REeORD: 
Vol. 121 (1975): Dec. 10, 16, considered and passed House. 
Vol. 122 (1976): Jan. 28-30, Feb. 2, 3, considered and passed Senate, in lieu of 
S. 2260.