Regulations last checked for updates: May 17, 2024

Title 7 - Agriculture last revised: Nov 16, 2024
§ 9.302 - Definitions.

The following definitions apply to this subpart. The definitions in part 1400 of this title apply, except where they conflict with the definitions in this section.

2017 WHIP means the 2017 Wildfires and Hurricanes Indemnity Program under 7 CFR part 760, subpart O.

Agricultural commodity means a crop, aquaculture, livestock, livestock byproduct, or other animal or animal byproduct that is produced as part of a farming operation and is intended to be commercially marketed. It includes only commodities produced in the United States, or produced outside the United States by a producer located in the United States and marketed inside the United States. It excludes:

(1) Wild free-roaming animals;

(2) Horses and other animals used or intended to be used for racing or wagering;

(3) Aquatic species that do not meet the definition of aquaculture;

(4) Cannabis sativa L. and any part of that plant that does not meet the definition of hemp; and

(5) Timber.

Applicable pandemic assistance includes payments received directly by an applicant under the following programs:

(1) The Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP);

(2) The Pandemic Livestock Indemnity Program (PLIP); and

(3) The Spot Market Hog Pandemic Program (SMHPP).

Application means the PARP application form.

Aquaculture means any species of aquatic organisms grown as food for human or livestock consumption or for industrial or biomass uses, fish raised as feed for fish that are consumed by humans, and ornamental fish propagated and reared in an aquatic medium. Eligible aquacultural species must be raised by a commercial operator and in water in a controlled environment.

ARC and PLC means the Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) and Price Loss Coverage (PLC) programs under 7 CFR part 1412.

BCAP means the Biomass Crop Assistance Program under 7 CFR part 1450.

Beginning farmer or rancher means a farmer or rancher who has not operated a farm or ranch for more than 10 years and who materially and substantially participates in the operation. For a legal entity to be considered a beginning farmer or rancher, at least 50 percent of the interest must be beginning farmers or ranchers.

Cattle feeder operation means an operation that intensely feeds cattle on behalf of another person or entity for finishing purposes and is compensated based on feed, yardage, or weight gain of the cattle.

CCC means the Commodity Credit Corporation.

CFAP means the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program 1 and 2 under 7 CFR part 9, subparts A through C, excluding assistance for contract producers specified in § 9.203(l) through (o).

Contract producer means a producer who grows or produces an agricultural commodity under contract for or on behalf of another person or entity. The contract producer does not have ownership in the commodity and is not entitled to a share from sales proceeds of the commodity. The term “contract producer” does not include cattle feeder operations.

Controlled environment means an environment in which everything that can practicably be controlled by the producer with structures, facilities, and growing media (including but not limited to water, soil, or nutrients), is in fact controlled by the producer, as determined by industry standards.

County means the county or parish of a state. For Alaska, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands, a county is an area designated by the State committee with the concurrence of the Deputy Administrator.

County committee means the FSA county committee.

Crop insurance means an insurance policy reinsured by Federal Crop Insurance Corporation under the provisions of the Federal Crop Insurance Act, as amended, or a private plan of insurance.

Deputy Administrator means Deputy Administrator for Farm Programs, Farm Service Agency, U.S. Department of Agriculture, or their designee.

DMC means the Dairy Margin Coverage Program under 7 CFR part 1430, subpart D.

ELAP means the Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees, and Farm-Raised Fish Program under 7 CFR part 1416, subpart B.

ERP means the Emergency Relief Program, which was administered in 2 phases:

(1) ERP Phase 1, administered according to the notice of funds availability published in the Federal Register on May 18, 2022 (87 FR 30164-30172) and the clarification to the notice of funds availability that was published on August 18, 2022 (87 FR 50828-50830); and

(2) ERP Phase 2, administered according to 7 CFR part 760, subpart S.

Farming operation means a business enterprise engaged in the production of agricultural products, commodities, or livestock, operated by a person, legal entity, or joint operation, and that is eligible to receive payments, directly or indirectly, under this subpart. A person or legal entity may have more than one farming operation if the person or legal entity is a member of one or more legal entity or joint operation.

Foreign entity means a corporation, trust, estate, or other similar organization that has more than 10 percent of its beneficial interest held by individuals who are not:

(1) Citizens of the United States; or

(2) Lawful aliens possessing a valid Alien Registration Receipt Card.

Foreign person means any person who is not a citizen or national of the United States or who is admitted into the United States for permanent residence under the Immigration and Nationality Act and possesses a valid Alien Registration Receipt Card issued by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, Department of Homeland Security.

Hemp means the plant species Cannabis sativa L. and any part of that plant, including the seeds thereof and all derivatives, extracts, cannabinoids, isomers, acids, salts, and salts of isomers, whether growing or not, with a delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol concentration of not more than 0.3 percent on a dry weight basis, that is grown under a license or other required authorization issued by the applicable governing authority that permits the production of the hemp.

IRS means the Department of Treasury, Internal Revenue Service.

LDP means the Loan Deficiency Payment programs in 7 CFR parts 1421, 1425, 1427, 1434, and 1435.

Legal entity means a corporation, joint stock company, association, limited partnership, irrevocable trust, estate, charitable organization, or other similar organization including any such organization participating in a business structure as a partner in a general partnership, a participant in a joint venture, a grantor of a revocable trust, or as a participant in a similar organization. A business operating as a sole proprietorship is considered a legal entity.

Limited resource farmer or rancher means a farmer or rancher:

(1) Who is a person whose:

(i) Direct or indirect gross farm sales did not exceed $180,300 in each calendar year for 2017 and 2018 (the relevant years for the 2020 program year); and

(ii) Total household income was at or below the national poverty level for a family of four in each of the same two previous years referenced in paragraph (1)(i) of this definition; 1 or

1 Limited resource farmer or rancher status can be determined using a website available through the Limited Resource Farmer and Rancher Online Self Determination Tool through Natural Resources Conservation Service at https://lrftool.sc.egov.usda.gov.

(2) That is an entity and all members who hold an ownership interest in the entity meet the criteria in paragraph (1) of this definition.

LFP means the Livestock Forage Disaster Program under CFR part 1416, subpart C.

LIP means the Livestock Indemnity Program under 7 CFR part 1416, subpart D.

Minor child means a person who is under 18 years of age as of June 1, 2020.

MFP means the 2018 Market Facilitation Program under 7 CFR part 1409, subpart A, and the 2019 Market Facilitation Program under 7 CFR part 1409, subpart B.

Milk Loss Program means the Milk Loss Program under 7 CFR part 760, subpart Q.

MLG means a marketing loan gain under the Marketing Assistance Loan programs in 7 CFR parts 1421, 1425, 1427, 1434, and 1435.

MPP-Dairy means the Margin Protection Program for Dairy under 7 CFR part 1430, subpart A.

NAP means the Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program under section 196 of the Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act of 1996 (7 U.S.C. 7333) and 7 CFR part 1437.

On-Farm Storage Loss Program means the On-Farm Storage Loss Program under 7 CFR part 760, subpart P.

Ownership interest means to have either legal ownership interest or beneficial ownership interest in a legal entity. For the purposes of administering PARP, a person or legal entity that owns a share or stock in a legal entity that is a corporation, limited liability company, limited partnership, or similar type entity where members hold a legal ownership interest and shares in the profits or losses of such entity is considered to have an ownership interest in such legal entity. A person or legal entity that is a beneficiary of a trust or heir of an estate who benefits from the profits or losses of such entity is also considered to have a beneficial ownership interest in such legal entity.

Person means an individual, natural person and does not include a legal entity.

PLIP means the Pandemic Livestock Indemnity Program announced in the notice of funds availability published on July 19, 2021 (86 FR 37990-37994).

PMVAP means the Pandemic Market Volatility Assistance Program administered by USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service.

Producer means a person or legal entity who was in the business of farming to produce an agricultural commodity in calendar year 2020, and who was entitled to a share in the agricultural commodity available for marketing or would have shared had the agricultural commodity been produced and marketed. For PARP, “producer” also includes cattle feeder operations.

Socially disadvantaged farmer or rancher means a farmer or rancher who is a member of a group whose members have been subjected to racial, ethnic, or gender prejudice because of their identity as members of a group without regard to their individual qualities. For entities, at least 50 percent of the ownership interest must be held by individuals who are members of such a group. Socially disadvantaged groups include the following and no others unless approved in writing by the Deputy Administrator:

(1) American Indians or Alaskan Natives;

(2) Asians or Asian-Americans;

(3) Blacks or African Americans;

(4) Hispanics or Hispanic Americans;

(5) Native Hawaiians or other Pacific Islanders; and

(6) Women.

TAP means the Tree Assistance Program under 7 CFR part 1416, subpart E.

SMHPP means the Spot Market Hog Pandemic Program announced in the notice of funds availability published on December 14, 2021 (86 FR 71003-71007).

STRP means the Seafood Trade Relief Program announced in the notice of funds availability published on September 14, 2020 (85 FR 56572-56575).

Underserved farmer or rancher means a beginning farmer or rancher, limited resource farmer or rancher, socially disadvantaged farmer or rancher, or veteran farmer or rancher.

United States means all 50 States of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and any other territory or possession of the United States.

Veteran farmer or rancher means a farmer or rancher:

(1) Who has served in the Armed Forces (as defined in 38 U.S.C. 101(10) 2 ) and:

2 The term “Armed Forces” means the United States Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard, including the reserve components.

(i) Has not operated a farm or ranch for more than 10 years; or

(ii) Has obtained status as a veteran (as defined in 38 U.S.C. 101(2) 3 ) during the most recent 10-year period; or

3 The term “veteran” means a person who served in the active military, naval, air, or space service, and who was discharged or released under conditions other than dishonorable.

(2) That is an entity and at least 50 percent of the ownership interest is held by members who meet the criteria in paragraph (1) of this definition.

WHIP+ means the Wildfires and Hurricanes Indemnity Program Plus under 7 CFR part 760, subpart O.

authority: 15 U.S.C. 714b and 714c; Division B, Title I, Pub. L. 116-136, 134 Stat. 505; and Division N, Title VII, Subtitle B, Chapter 1, Pub. L. 116-260
source: 85 FR 30830, May 21, 2020, unless otherwise noted.
cite as: 7 CFR 9.302