Contracts

Except as provided in paragraph (2), no contract shall be entered into under this subpart concerning land with respect to which the ownership has changed in the 1-year period preceding the first year of the contract period unless— Paragraph (1) shall not— require a person to own the land as a condition of eligibility for entering into the contract if the person— If, during the term of a contract entered into under this subpart, an owner or operator of land subject to the contract sells or otherwise transfers the ownership or right of occupancy of the land, the new owner or operator of the land may— The Secretary may modify a contract entered into with an owner or operator under this subpart if— the Secretary determines that the modification is desirable— The Secretary may modify or waive a term or condition of a contract entered into under this subpart in order to permit all or part of the land subject to such contract to be devoted to the production of an agricultural commodity during a crop year, subject to such conditions as the Secretary determines are appropriate. The Secretary may terminate a contract entered into with an owner or operator under this subpart if— At least 90 days before taking any action to terminate under paragraph (1) all conservation reserve contracts entered into under this subpart, the Secretary shall provide to the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate written notice of the action. During fiscal year 2015, the Secretary shall allow a participant that entered into a contract under this subpart to terminate the contract at any time if the contract has been in effect for at least 5 years. The termination shall not relieve the participant of liability for a contract violation occurring before the date of the termination. The participant shall provide the Secretary with reasonable notice of the desire of the participant to terminate the contract. The following land shall not be subject to an early termination of contract under this subsection: The contract termination shall become effective upon approval by the Secretary. If a contract entered into under this subpart is terminated under this subsection before the end of the fiscal year for which a rental payment is due, the Secretary shall provide a prorated rental payment covering the portion of the fiscal year during which the contract was in effect. The termination of a contract entered into under this subpart shall not affect the ability of the owner or operator that requested the termination to submit a subsequent bid to enroll the land that was subject to the contract into the conservation reserve. If land that was subject to a contract is returned to production of an agricultural commodity, the conservation requirements under subchapters II and III shall apply to the use of the land to the extent that the requirements are similar to those requirements imposed on other similar land in the area, except that the requirements may not be more onerous than the requirements imposed on other land. In the case of a contract modification approved in order to facilitate the transfer of land subject to a contract from a contract holder to a beginning farmer or rancher, a veteran farmer or rancher (as defined in section 2279(e) 11 See References in Text note below. of title 7), or a socially disadvantaged farmer or rancher (in this subsection referred to as a “covered farmer or rancher”), the Secretary shall— beginning on the date that is 2 years before the date of termination of the contract— give priority to the enrollment of the land covered by the contract in— To the extent that the maximum number of acres permitted to be enrolled under the conservation reserve program has not been met, the Secretary shall provide a covered farmer or rancher with the option to reenroll any applicable partial field conservation practice that— The Secretary shall not consider an owner or operator to be in violation of a term or condition of the conservation reserve contract if— during the year prior to expiration of the contract, the owner or operator— The Secretary may terminate or modify a contract entered into under this subpart if eligible land that is subject to such contract is transferred into the agricultural conservation easement program under subchapter VII.