§ 752.20 - Modification of an agreement.

(a) Any reconstitution of farms shall be made in accordance with the regulations governing reconstitution of farms, part 719 of this chapter, as amended.

(b) If the farm is reconstituted because of purchase, sale, change of operation, or otherwise, the agreement shall be modified in accordance with instructions issued by the Deputy Administrator with respect to any reconstituted farm which contains all or any part of the original designated acreage. The modified agreement or agreements shall reflect the changes in the number of acres in any reconstituted farm, the designated acreage, interested persons, and division of payments. If persons who were not signatories to the original agreement are required to execute such modified agreement or agreements in accordance with the provisions of § 752.8, but such persons are not willing to become parties to the modified agreement or for any other reason a modified agreement is not executed, the agreement shall be terminated with respect to the designated acreage which is not continued in the program, and all unearned payments shall be forfeited or refunded to FSA. The annual payment for the year in which a reconstitution occurs shall not be considered earned unless the designated acreage is continued in the program and there is a compliance with the agreement for the full agreement year. The persons on the farm prior to the reconstitution who were signatories to the agreement shall be jointly and severally responsible for refunding the unearned payments previously made.

(c) Except with respect to a farm which is reconstituted, if the ownership or operation of the farm changes in such a manner that the agreement no longer contains the signatures of persons required to sign the agreement in accordance with § 752.8, the agreement shall be modified in accordance with instructions issued by the Deputy Administrator to reflect the new interested persons and new divisions of payments. If such persons are not willing to become parties to the modified agreement or for any other reason a modified agreement is not executed, the agreement shall be terminated and all unearned payments shall be forfeited or refunded. The annual payment for the year in which the change of ownership or operation occurs shall not be considered to have been earned unless the designated acreage is continued in the program and there is compliance with the agreement for the full agreement year. The persons on the farm prior to the change of ownership or operation who were signatories to the agreement shall be jointly and severally responsible for refunding the unearned payments previously made.

(d) The Deputy Administrator may authorize other agreement modifications which are determined to be desirable to carry out the purposes of the program or to facilitate its administration.