§ 723.215 - Transfer of tobacco farm acreage allotment or farm marketing quota that cannot be planted or replanted due to a natural disaster.

(a) Designation of counties affected by a natural disaster. The State FSA committee shall determine those counties affected by a natural disaster (including but not limited to hurricane, rain, flash flood, hail, drought, and any other severe weather) which prevents the timely planting or replanting of any of the tobacco acreage allotment or marketing quota for any farm in the county. The county FSA committee of each county affected by the determination shall publicize the determination.

(b) Application for transfer. The owner or operator of a farm in a county designated for any year under paragraph (a) of this section may file a written application for transfer of tobacco acreage with the farm acreage allotment or marketing quota for such year to another farm or farms in the same county or in any other nearby county in the same or another State if such acreage cannot be planted or replanted because of the natural disaster determined for such year. The application shall be filed with the county FSA committee for the county in which the farm affected by such disaster is located. If the application involves a transfer to a nearby county, the county FSA committee for the nearby county shall be consulted before action is taken by the county FSA committee receiving the application.

(c)(1) Amount of burley tobacco transfer. The burley quota to be transferred shall not exceed the smaller of:

(i) The effective farm quota established under this part less such quota planted to tobacco and not destroyed by the natural disaster, or

(ii) The quota requested to be transferred.

(2) Amount of transfer for other than burley tobacco. The allotment to be transferred shall not exceed the smaller of:

(i) The farm allotment established under this part less such acreage planted to tobacco and not destroyed by the natural disaster, or

(ii) The allotment requested to be transferred.

(d) County FSA committee approval. The county FSA committee shall approve the transfer if it finds that:

(1) All or part of the farm acreage allotment or marketing quota for the transferring farm could not be timely planted or replanted because of the natural disaster.

(2) One or more of the producers of tobacco on the transferring farm will be a bona fide producer engaged in the production of tobacco on the receiving farm and will share in the proceeds of the tobacco.

(e) Cancellation of transfer. If a transfer is approved under this section and it is later determined that the conditions in paragraph (d) of this section have not been met, the county FSA committee, or the Deputy Administrator may cancel such transfer. Action by the county FSA committee to cancel a transfer shall be subject to the approval of the State FSA committee or its representative.

(f) Acreage history credits. Any acreage transferred under this paragraph shall be considered for the purpose of determining future allotments or quotas to have been planted to tobacco on the farm from which such allotment or quota is transferred.

(g) Closing dates. The closing date for filing applications for transfers with the county FSA committee shall be July 15 of the current year. Notwithstanding such closing date requirement, the county FSA committee may accept applications filed after the closing date upon a determination by the county FSA committee that the failure to timely file an application was the result of conditions beyond the control of the applicant and a representative of the State FSA committee approves such determination.