§ 1400.214 Cash rent tenants.

(a) Any tenant that is actively engaged in farming in accordance with the provisions of this subpart and conducts a farming operation in which the tenant rents the land for cash, for a crop share guaranteed as to the amount of the commodity, or by any arrangement in which the tenant does not compensate the landlord by cash or a crop share, and receives benefits, with respect to the land under a program specified in § 1400.1(a)(1) and (2) will not be eligible to receive any payment with respect to the cash-rented land unless the tenant independently makes a significant contribution to the farming operation of: (1) Active personal labor; or (2) Significant contributions of both active personal management and equipment. (b) If the equipment is leased by the tenant from: (1) The landlord, then the lease must reflect the fair market value of the equipment leased with a payment schedule considered reasonable and customary for the area; or (2) The same person or legal entity that is providing hired labor to the farming operation, then the contracts for the lease of the equipment and for the hired labor must be two separate contracts. (c) If the equipment is leased by the tenant from the landlord, or from the same person or legal entity that is providing hired labor to the farming operation, then the tenant must exercise complete control over the leased equipment during the entire current crop year. Complete control is defined as exclusive access and use by the tenant. (d)(1) For program year 2025 and prior years, if the cash rent tenant is a joint operation, then each member or their spouse must make a significant contribution of active personal labor or active personal management as specified in § 1400.203(a)(1)(ii) to be considered eligible for the member's share of the program payments received by the joint operation on the cash rented land. (2) For program year 2026 and subsequent years, if the cash rent tenant is a qualified pass-through entity, then each member or their spouse must make a significant contribution of active personal labor or active personal management as specified in § 1400.203(a)(1)(ii) to be considered eligible for the member's share of the program payments received by the qualified pass-through entity on the cash rented land. (e) If the cash rent tenant is a legal entity, then a significant contribution of active personal labor or active personal management must be made to the legal entity as specified in § 1400.204(a)(2) for the legal entity to be considered eligible for the program payments on the cash rented land.