Sec. 344. acreage allotments

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## Sec. 344 acreage allotments ###

(a)Whenever a national marketing quota is proclaimed under section 342, the Secretary shall determine and proclaim a national acreage allotment for the crop of cotton to be produced in the next calendar year. The national acreage allotment for cotton shall be that acreage, based upon the national average yield per acre of cotton for the four years immediately preceding the calendar year in which the national marketing quota is proclaimed, required to make available from such crop an amount of cotton equal to the national marketing quota. ###

(b)The national acreage allotment for cotton for 1953 and subsequent years shall be apportioned to the States on the basis of the acreage planted to cotton (including the acreages regarded as having been planted to cotton under the provisions of Public Law 12, Seventy-ninth Congress) during the five calendar years immediately preceding the calendar year in which the national marketing quota is proclaimed, with adjustments for abnormal weather conditions during such period: Provided, That **[*** * ***]**23 Provided, That there is hereby established a national acreage reserve consisting of three hundred and ten thousand acres which shall be in addition to the national acreage allotment; and such reserve shall be apportioned to the States on the basis of their needs for additional acreage for establishing minimum farm allotments under subsection (f)(1), as determined by the Secretary without regard to State and count acreage reserves (except that the amount apportioned to Nevada sell be one thousand acres). For the 1960 and succeeding crops of cotton, the needs of States (other than Nevada) for such additional acreage for such purpose may be estimated by the Secretary, after taking into consideration such needs as determined or estimated for the preceding crop of cotton and the size of the national acreage allotment for such crop. The additional acreage so apportioned to the State shall be apportioned to the counties on the basis of the needs of the counties for such additional acreage for such purpose, and added to the county acreage allotment for apportionment to farms pursuant to subsection

(f)of this section (except that no part of such additional acreage shall be used to increase the county reserve above 15 per centum of the county allotment determined without regard to such additional acreage). Additional acreage apportioned to a State for any year under the foregoing proviso shall not be taken into account in establishing future State acreage allotments. Needs for additional acreage under the foregoing provisions and under the last provision in subsection

(e)shall be determined or estimated as though allotments were first computed without regard to subsection (f)(1). 23A proviso which was effective only with respect to the 1957 and 1958 crops of cotton has been deleted. ### (c)24 **[** * * * **]** 24Subsec.

(c)was applicable only to the 1950 and 1951 crops of cotton. ### (d)25 **[** * * * **]** 25Subsec.

(d)was applicable only to the 1952 crop of cotton. ###

(e)The State acreage allotment for cotton shall be apportioned to counties on the same basis as to years and conditions as is applicable to the State under subsections (b), (c), and

(d)of this section: Provided, That the State committee may reserve not to exceed 10 per centum of its State acreage allotment (15 per centum if the State's 1948 planted acreage was in excess of one million acres and less than half its 1943 allotment) which shall be used to make adjustments in county allotments for trends in acreage, for counties adversely affected by abnormal conditions affecting plantings, or for small or new farms, or to correct inequities in farm allotments and to prevent hardship: Provided further, That **[*** * ***]**26. Provided further, That if the additional acreage allocated to a State under the proviso in subsection

(b)is less than the requirements as determined or estimated by the Secretary for establishing minimum farm allotments for the State under subsection (f)(1), the acreage reserved under this subsection shall not be less than the smaller of

(1)the remaining acreage so determined or estimated to be required for establishing minimum farm allotments or

(2)3 per centum of the State acreage allotment; and the acreage which is required to be reserved under this proviso shall be allocated to counties on the basis of their needs for additional acreage for establishing minimum farm allotments under subsection (f)(1), and added to the county acreage allotment for apportionment to farms pursuant to subsection

(f)The county acreage allotment, less not to exceed the percentage provided for in paragraph

(3)of this subsection shall be apportioned to farms on which cotton has been planted (or regarded as having been planted under the provisions of Public Law 12, Seventy-ninth Congress) in any one of the three years immediately preceding the year for which such allotment is determined on the following basis: ####

(1)Insofar as such acreage is available, there shall be allotted the smaller of the following:

(A)ten acres; or

(B)the acreage allotment established for the farm for the 1958 crop. ####

(2)The remainder shall be allotted to farms other than farms to which an allotment has been made under paragraph (1)(B) so that the allotment to each farm under this paragraph together with the amount of the allotment to such farm under paragraph (1)(A) shall be a prescribed percentage (which percentage shall be the same for all such farms in the county or administrative areas) of the acreage, during the preceding year, on the farm which is tilled annually or in regular rotation, excluding from such acreages the acres devoted to the production of sugar cane for sugar, sugar beets for sugar, wheat, tobacco, or rice for market; peanuts picked and threshed; wheat or rice or feeding to livestock for market; or lands determined to be voted primarily to orchards or vineyards, and nonirrigated lands in irrigated area: Provided, however, That if a farm would be allotted under this paragraph an acreage together with the amount of the allotment to such farm under paragraph (1)(A) in excess of the largest acreage planted (and regarded as planted under Public Law 12, Seventy-ninth Congress) to cotton during any of the preceding three years, the acreage allotment for such farm shall not exceed such largest acreage so planted (and regarded as planted under Public Law 12, Seventy-ninth Congress) in any such year. ####

(3)The county committee may reserve not in excess of 15 per centum of the county allotment **[*** * ***]**27 which, in addition to the acreage made available under the proviso in subsection (e), shall be used for

(A)establishing allotments for farms on which cotton was not planted (or regarded as planted under Public Law 12, Seventy-ninth Congress) during any of the three calendar years immediately preceding the year for which the allotment is made, on the basis of land, labor, and equipment available for the production of cotton, crop rotation practices, and the soil and other physical facilities affecting the production of cotton; and

(B)making adjustments of the farm acreage allotments established under paragraphs

(1)and

(2)of this subsection so as to establish allotments which are fair and reasonable in relation to the factors set forth in this paragraph and abnormal conditions of production on such farms, or in making adjustments in farm acreage allotments to correct inequities and to prevent hardship: Provided, That not less than 20 percent of the acreage reserved under this subsection shall, to the extent required, be allotted upon such basis as the Secretary deems fair and reasonable to farms (other than farms to which an allotment has been made under subsection (f)(1)(B), if any, to which an allotment of not exceeding fifteen acres may be made under other provisions of this subsection. 27Material omitted which does not change 15 per centum maximum. #### (4)28 28Paras.

(4)and

(5)were applicable only to the 1950 crop of cotton. #### (5)29 29See footnote 344–6. ####

(6)Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph

(2)of this subsection, if the county committee recommends such action and the Secretary determines that such action will result in a more equitable distribution of the county allotment among farms in the county, the remainder of the county acreage allotment (after making allotments as provided in paragraph

(1)of this subsection) shall be allotted to farms other than farms to which an allotment has been made under paragraph (1)(B) of this subsection so that the allotment to each farm under this paragraph together with the amount of the allotment of such farm under paragraph (1)(A) of this subsection shall be a prescribed percentage (which percentage shall be the same for all such farms in the county) of the average acreage planted to cotton on the farm during the three years immediately preceding the year for which such allotment is determined, adjusted as may be necessary for abnormal conditions affecting plantings during such three year period: Provided, That the county committee may in its discretion limit any farm acreage allotment established under the provisions of this paragraph for any year to an acreage not in excess of 50 per centum of the cropland on the farm, as determined pursuant to the provisions of paragraph

(2)of this subsection: Provided further, That any part of the county acreage allotment not apportioned under this paragraph by reason of the initial application of such 50 per centum limitation shall be added to the county acreage reserve under paragraph

(3)of this subsection and shall be available for the purposes specified therein. If the county acreage allotment is apportioned among the farms of the county in accordance with the provisions of this paragraph, the acreage reserved under paragraph

(3)of this subsection may be used to make adjustments so as to establish allotments which are fair and reasonable to farms receiving allotments under this paragraph in relation to the factors set forth in paragraph (3). ####

(7)#####

(A)In the event that any farm acreage allotment is less than that prescribed by paragraph (1), such acreage allotment shall be increased to the acreage prescribed by paragraph (1). The additional acreage required to be allotted to farms under this paragraph shall be in addition to the county, State, and national acreage allotments and the production from such acreage shall be in addition to the national marketing quota. #####

(B)Notwithstanding any other provision of law— ######

(i)the acreage by which any farm acreage allotment for 1959 or any subsequent crop established under paragraph

(1)exceeds the acreage which would have been allotted to such farm if its allotment had been computed on the basis of the same percentage factor applied to other farms in the county under paragraph (2), (6), or

(8)shall not be taken into account in establishing the acreage allotment for such farm for any crop for which acreage is allotted to such farm under paragraph (2), (6), or (8); and acreage shall be allotted under paragraph (2), (6), or

(8)to farms which did not receive 1958 crop allotments in excess of ten acres if and only if the Secretary determines (after considering the allotments to other farms in the county for such crop compared with their 1958 allotments and other relevant factors) that equity and justice require the allotment of additional acreage to such farm under paragraph (2), (6), or (8), ######

(ii)the acreage by which any county acreage allotment for 1959 or any subsequent crop is increased from the national or State reserve on the basis of its needs for additional acreage for establishing minimum farm allotments shall not be taken into account in establishing future county acreage allotments, and ######

(iii)the additional acreage allotted pursuant to subparagraph

(A)of this paragraph

(7)shall not be taken into account in establishing future State, county, or farm acreage allotments. ####

(8)Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of paragraphs

(2)and

(6)of this subsection, the Secretary shall, if allotments were in effect the preceding year, provide for the county acreage allotment for the 1959 and succeeding crops of cotton, less the acreage reserved under paragraph

(3)of this subsection, to be apportioned to farms on which cotton has been planted in any one of the three years immediately preceding the year for which such allotment is determined, on the basis of the farm acreage allotment for the year immediately preceding the year for which such apportionment is made, adjusted as may be necessary

(i)for any change in the acreage of cropland available for the production of cotton, or

(ii)to meet the requirements of any provision (other than those contained in paragraphs

(2)and (6)) with respect to the counting of acreage for history purposes: Provided, That, beginning with allotments established for the 1961 crop of cotton, if the acreage actually planted (or regarded as planted under the Soil Bank Act, the environmental quality incentives program established under subchapter A of chapter 4 of subtitle D of title XII of the Food Security Act of 1985, and the release and reapportionment provisions of subsection (m)(2) of this section) to cotton on the farm in the preceding year was less than 75 per centum of the farm allotment for such year or, in the case of a farm which qualified for price support on the crop produced in such year under section 103(b) of the Agricultural Act of 1949, as amended, 75 per centum of the farm domestic allotment established under section 350 for such year, whichever is smaller, in lieu of using such allotment as the farm base as provided in this paragraph, the base shall be the average of

(1)the cotton acreage for the farm for the preceding year as determined for purposes of this proviso and

(2)the allotment established for the farm pursuant to the provisions of this subsection

(f)for such preceding year; and the 1958 allotment used for establishing the minimum farm allotment under paragraph

(1)of this subsection

(f)shall be adjusted to the average acreage so determined. The base for a farm shall not be adjusted as provided in this paragraph if the county committee determines that failure to plant at least 75 per centum of the farm allotment was due to conditions beyond the control of producers on the farm. The Secretary shall establish limitations to prevent allocations of allotment to farms not affected by the foregoing proviso, which would be excessive on the basis of the cropland, past cotton acreage, allotments for other commodities, and good soil conservation practices on such farms. ###

(g)Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this section— ####

(1)State, county, and farm acreage allotments and yields for cotton shall be established in conformity with Public Law 28, Eighty-first Congress. ####

(2)In apportioning the county allotment among the farms within the county, the Secretary, through the local committees, shall take into consideration different conditions within separate administrative areas within a county if any exist, including types, kinds, and productivity of the soil so as to prevent discrimination among the administrative areas of the county. ######

(i)Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, any acreage planted to cotton in excess of the farm acreage allotment shall not be taken into account in establishing State, county, and farm acreage allotments. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, beginning with the 1960 crop the planting of cotton on a farm in any of the immediately preceding three years that allotments were in effect but no allotment was established for such farm for any year of such three year period shall not make the farm eligible for an allotment as an old farm under subsection

(f)of this section: Provided, however, That by reason of such planting the farm need not be considered as ineligible for a new farm allotment under subsection (f)(3) of this section. ###

(j)Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, State and county committees shall make available for inspection by owners or operators of farms receiving cotton acreage allotments all records pertaining to cotton acreage allotments and marketing quotas. ###

(k)Notwithstanding any other provision of this section except subsection (g)(1), there shall be allotted to each State for which an allotment is made under this section not less than the smaller of

(A)four thousand acres or

(B)the highest acreage planted to cotton in any one of the three calendar years immediately preceding the year for which the allotment is made. ### (l)30 **[** * * * **]** 30Subsec. (*l*), relating to war crops under P.L. 79–12, does not apply to the 1955 and succeeding crops of cotton. ###

(m)Notwithstanding any other provision of law— ####

(1)(Applicable only to 1954 crop of cotton.) ####

(2)Any part of any farm cotton acreage allotment on which cotton 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 receiving allotments in amounts determined by the county committee to be fair and reasonable on the basis of past acreage of cotton, land, labor, equipment available for the production of cotton, crop rotation practices, and soil and other physical facilities affecting the production of cotton. If all of the allotted acreage voluntarily surrendered is not needed in the county, the county committee may surrender the excess acreage to the State committee to be used for the same purposes as the State acreage reserve under subsection

(e)of this section. Any allotment released under this provision shall be regarded for the purposes of establishing future allotments as having been planted on the farm and in the county where the release was made rather than on the farm and in the county to which the allotment was transferred, except that this shall not operate to make the farm from which the allotment was transferred eligible for an allotment as having cotton planted thereon during the three-year base period: Provided, That notwithstanding any other provisions of law, any part of any farm acreage allotment may be permanently released in writing to the county committee by the owner and operator of the farm, and reapportioned as provided herein. Acreage released under this paragraph shall be credited to the State in determining future allotments. The provisions of this paragraph shall apply also to extra long staple cotton covered by section 341 of this Act. #### (3)31 **[** * * * **]** 31Para.

(3)was applicable only to the 1954 crop of cotton. ###

(n)Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, if the Secretary determines for any year that because of a natural disaster a portion of the farm cotton acreage allotments in a county cannot be timely planted or replanted in such year, he may authorize for such year the transfer of all or part of the cotton acreage allotment for any farm in the county so affected to another farm in the county or in an adjoining county on which one or more of the producers on the farm from which the transfer is to be made will be engaged in the production of cotton and will share in the proceeds thereof, in accordance with such regulations as the Secretary may prescribe. Any farm allotment transferred under this paragraph shall be deemed to be released acreage for the purpose of acreage history credits under section 344(f)(8), 344(m)(2), and 377 of this Act: Provided, That, notwithstanding the provisions of section 344(m)(2) of this Act, the transfer of any farm allotment under this subsection for any year shall operate to make the farm from which the allotment was transferred eligible for an allotment as having cotton planted thereon during the three-year base period.