§ 756.5 - Eligible producers.

§ 756.5 Eligible producers.

(a) To be an eligible producer, the producer must:

(1) Be an individual person that is a U.S. Citizen or Resident Alien, or a partnership, association, corporation, estate, trust, or other legal entity consisting solely of U.S. Citizens or Resident Aliens that produces an eligible crop as a landowner, landlord, tenant, or sharecropper; and

(2) Comply with all provisions of this part and, as applicable:

(i) 7 CFR part 3 - Debt Management;

(ii) 7 CFR part 12 - Highly Erodible Land and Wetland Conservation;

(iii) 7 CFR 400.680, Controlled substance;

(iv) 7 CFR part 1400, adjusted gross income (AGI) provisions:

(A) Program year 2015 will be used to determine AGI for the OFF Program, therefore the AGI will be the average of tax years 2013, 2012, and 2011; and

(B) The OFF Program allows an exception to the $900,000 average AGI limitation if at least 75 percent of the average AGI was derived from farming, ranching, or forestry operations. CCC-942 is used to collect the producer and certified public accountant (CPA) or attorney certification statements;

(v) 7 CFR part 707 - Payments Due Persons Who Have Died, Disappeared, or Have Been Declared Incompetent;

(vi) 7 CFR part 718 - Provisions Applicable to Multiple Programs; and

(vii) 7 CFR part 1400 - Payment Limitation and Payment Eligibility.

(b) A receiver or trustee of an insolvent or bankrupt debtor's estate, an executor or an administrator of a deceased person's estate, a guardian of an estate of a ward or an incompetent person, and trustees of a trust is considered to represent the insolvent or bankrupt debtor, the deceased person, the ward or incompetent, and the beneficiaries of a trust, respectively. The production of the receiver, executor, administrator, guardian, or trustee is the production of the person or estate represented by the receiver, executor, administrator, guardian, or trustee. OFF Program documents executed by any such person will be accepted by FSA only if they are legally valid and such person has the authority to sign the applicable documents.

(c) A minor who is otherwise an eligible producer is eligible to receive an OFF Program payment only if the minor meets one of the following requirements:

(1) The right of majority has been conferred on the minor by court proceedings or by statute.

(2) A guardian has been appointed to manage the minor's property and the applicable OFF Program documents are signed by the guardian.

(3) Any OFF Program application signed by the minor is cosigned by a person determined by the FSA county committee to be financially responsible.

(d) Foreign person rules in 7 CFR part 1400, subpart E, are not applicable to the OFF Program.

(e) Producers will not be required to be in the business of producing and marketing agricultural products at the time of OFF Program application.

(f) The producer must have been actively producing and marketing agricultural products during the OFF quarantine period.