§ 1412.407 - Planting flexibility.

(a) Any crop may be planted and harvested on base acreage on a farm, except as limited elsewhere in this section. Any crop may be planted on DCP cropland in excess of the base acreage on a farm.

(b) Base acreage may be hayed or grazed at any time.

(c) Harvesting non-perennial fruits, vegetables (except lentils, mung beans, and dry peas) or wild rice, as determined by the Deputy Administrator, or designee, is prohibited on base acreage of a farm enrolled in a contract. Planting perennial fruits, vegetables (except lentils, mung beans, and dry peas) or wild rice, as determined by the Deputy Administrator, is prohibited on base acreage of a farm enrolled in a contract.

(d) Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph (c) of this section, perennial fruits, vegetables and wild rice may be planted on base acreage of a farm enrolled in a contract, and non-perennial fruits, vegetables and wild rice may be harvested on base acreage of a farm enrolled in a contract if:

(1) A producer double-crops fruits, vegetables or wild rice with a covered commodity or peanuts in any region described in paragraph (e) of this section, in which case direct and counter-cyclical payments will not be reduced for the planting or harvesting of the fruit, vegetable or wild rice;

(2) The farm has a history of planting fruits, vegetables, or wild rice, as determined by the CCC, in any one of the crop years 1991 through 1995 or 1998 through 2001, in which case the payment acres for the farm shall be reduced on an acre-for-acre basis; or

(3) The producer has a history of planting a specific fruit, specific vegetable or wild rice, as determined by CCC, the producer may plant and harvest the specific fruit, specific vegetable or wild rice for which the producer has a planting history, subject to the following:

(i) The acreage harvested shall not exceed the simple average of the sum of acreage of the specific fruit, specific vegetable or wild rice planted for harvest by the producer during the crop years 1991 through 1995 or 1998 through 2001, but not both, as determined by the producer, excluding any year in which the specific fruit, specific vegetable or wild rice was not planted; and

(ii) The payment acres for the farm shall be reduced on an acre-for-acre basis;

(e) Double-cropping for purposes of this section means planting for harvest fruits, vegetables or wild rice on the same acres in cycle with a covered commodity or peanuts planted and harvested for grain or lint in a 12-month period under normal growing conditions for the region and being able to repeat the same cycle in the following 12-month period. For purposes of this part, the following counties have been determined to be regions having a history of double-cropping covered commodities or peanuts with fruits, vegetables or wild rice. State committees have established the following counties as regions within their respective States:

(f) Any acreage reduction required by paragraph (d) of this section will be applied beginning with the covered commodity with lowest direct payment amount per acre until the acreage reduction amount is satisfied. Producers may agree to adjust the acre reduction between covered commodities on the farm, only to the extent the total acre reduction amount does not change for the farm, and all producers affected by the adjustment agree to the adjustment in writing.

(g) For the purposes of this part, fruits, vegetables and wild rice planted on base acreage of a farm under contract:

(1) Shall be considered harvested at the time of planting, unless the producer pays a fee to cover the cost of a farm visit, in accordance with part 718 of this title, to verify that the fruit, vegetable or wild rice has been destroyed before harvest, as determined by the Deputy Administrator.

(2) Shall not be considered as planted to a fruit, vegetable or wild rice when reported by a producer on the farm with an intended use of green manure or forage, as determined by the Deputy Administrator, and a fee to cover the cost of a farm visit is paid by the producer, in accordance with part 718 of this title, to verify that the crop has not been harvested.

(h) Fruits and vegetables include but are not limited to all nuts except peanuts, certain fruit-bearing trees and: acerola (barbados cherry), antidesma, apples, apricots, aragula, artichokes, asparagus, atemoya (custard apple), avocados, babaco papayas, bananas, beans (except soybeans, mung, adzuki, faba, and lupin), beets—other than sugar, blackberries, blackeye peas, blueberries, bok spare choy, boysenberries, breadfruit, broccoflower, broccolo-cavalo, broccoli, brussel sprouts, cabbage, cailang, caimito, calabaza, carambola (star fruit), calaboose, carob, carrots, cascadeberries, cauliflower, celeriac, celery, chayote, cherimoyas (sugar apples), canary melon, cantaloupes, cardoon, casaba melon, cassava, cherries, chickpeas/garbanzo beans, chinese bitter melon, chicory, chinese cabbage, chinese mustard, chinese water chestnuts, chufes, citron, citron melon, coffee, collards, cowpeas, crabapples, cranberries, cressie greens, crenshaw melons, cucumbers, currants, cushaw, daikon, dasheen, dates, dry edible beans, dunga, eggplant, elderberries elut, endive, escarole, etou, feijoas, figs, gai lien, gailon, galanga, genip, gooseberries, grapefruit, grapes, guambana, guavas, guy choy, honeydew melon, huckleberries, jackfruit, jerusalem artichokes, jicama, jojoba, kale, kenya, kiwifruit, kohlrabi, kumquats, leeks, lemons, lettuce, limequats, limes, lobok, loganberries, longon, loquats, lotus root, lychee (litchi), mandarins, mangos, marionberries, mar bub, melongene, mesple, mizuna, mongosteen, moqua, mulberries, murcotts, mushrooms, mustard greens, nectarines, ny Yu, okra, olallieberries, olives, onions, opo, oranges, papaya, paprika, parsnip, passion fruits, peaches, pears, peas, all peppers, persimmon, persian melon, pimentos, pineapple, pistachios, plantain, plumcots, plums, pomegranates, potatoes, prunes, pummelo, pumpkins, quinces, radiochio, radishes, raisins, raisins (distilling), rambutan, rape greens, rapini, raspberries, recao, rhubarb, rutabaga, santa claus melon, salsify, saodilla, sapote, savory, scallions, shallots, shiso, spinach, squash, strawberries, suk gat, swiss chard, sweet corn, sweet potatoes, tangelos, tangerines, tangos, tangors, taniers, taro root, tau chai, teff, tindora, tomatillos, tomatoes, turnips, turnip greens, watercress, watermelons, white sapote, yam, and yam yu choy.

(i) For 2002 contracts only, fruits, vegetables, and wild rice may be planted on excess base acres. Such plantings shall:

(1) Not be a violation of the contract

(2) Result in a reduction of direct and counter-cyclical payments in accordance with paragraph (f) of this section.