trict, the farm forestry representatives of the State, the county agricultural extension agent for the county (if he is not included in the foregoing group as ex officio member of the county committee), the county supervisor of the Farmers Home Administration, and others with conservation interests, shall develop recommendations for the county program.

(b) The program for the county then shall be formulated by the county ACP development group in consultation with the governing body of the soil conservation district on the overall conservation problems in the county and, especially, on the work plans of the soil conservation district and of the Federal agencies involved to assure the most effective use of the available technical assistance and funds for cost-sharing. The program as formulated shall be recommended to the State committee for approval by the State ACP development group. The program for the county shall be that recommended by the county ACP development group and approved by the State ACP development group. The program recommendation shall be signed by the chairman of the county committee, the Soil Conservation Service technician, and the Forest Service representative where present in the county, and shall state that the program was developed in consultation with the governing body of the soil conservation district, if any, or shall state that the governing body was invited to participate in developing the program but did not accept.

§ 701.6 Selection of practices.

Practices to be included in the State program or in the county program shall be only those practices for which costsharing is essential to permit accomplishment of needed conservation work which would not otherwise be carried out. § 701.7 Adaptation of practices.

(a) The practices included in the State program must meet all conditions and requirements of the national program. Additional conditions and requirements may be included where necessary for effective use in meeting the conservation problems in the State.

(b) The practices included in the county program must meet all conditions and requirements of the State program. Additional conditions and requirements may be included where necessary for effective use in meeting the conservation problems in the county.

§ 701.8

Practice specifications.

(a) Minimum specifications which practices must meet to be eligible for Federal cost-sharing shall be set forth in the State handbook or in the county program, or be incorporated therein by specific reference to a standard publication or other written document containing such specifications.

(b) For practices involving the establishment or improvement of vegetative cover, the specifications shall include, where appropriate, liming, fertilization, and seeding rates, eligible seeds and mixtures, seeding dates, requirements for cultural operations and inoculation, and other steps essential to the successful establishment or improvement of the vegetative cover. Eligible seeds and mixtures shall include a legume or legumes where recommended for inclusion by the State experiment station or the State extension service. For mechanical or construction type practices, the specifications shall include, where appropriate, the types and sizes of material, installation or construction requirements, and other steps essential to the proper functioning of the structure. For other practices, the specifications shall include those steps essential to the successful performance of the practice.

(c) Practice specifications shall provide minimum performance requirements which will qualify the practice for cost-sharing and, where applicable, may also provide maximum limits of performance which will be eligible for costsharing. The minimum performance requirements established for a practice shall represent those levels of performance which are necessary to assure a satisfactory practice. The maximum limits of performance for cost-sharing established for a practice shall represent those levels of performance which are needed in order for the practice to be most effective in meeting the conservation problem and which are not in excess of levels for which cost-sharing can be justified.

(d) Specifications for wildlife conservation practices shall be developed in consultation with the State agency having responsibility for wildlife conservation.

§ 701.9 Use of liming materials and commercial fertilizers for vegetative

cover.

(a) For practices which authorize Federal cost-sharing for applications of lim

ing materials and commercial fertilizers, the minimum application, and maximum application where applicable, on which cost-sharing is authorized shall, in each case, be determined on the basis of a current soil test: Provided, however, That if the State ACP development group determines that available facilities are not adequate to permit the desired use of these practices under the program, it shall authorize, to the extent necessary, an alternative basis for determination by the county committee of such applications. Such alternative basis shall be such as to insure beneficial use of Federal cost-sharing approved and shall be formulated by the State ACP development group in full consultation with the representatives of the State and Federal agencies participating in the development of the State program.

(b) The application of liming materials contained in commercial fertilizers, in rock phosphate, or in basic slag will not qualify for Federal cost-sharing. The application of manure will not qualify for Federal cost-sharing; however, manure may be used, where applicable, to meet all or a part of the fertilizer requirement for a practice. Liming material or fertilizer must be applied at such time and in such a manner that a conserving cover will be the primary beneficiary of the application.

§ 701.10 Responsibility for technical phases of practices.

(a) The Soil Conservation Service is responsible for the technical phases of practices A-8, B-7, C-4, C-5, C-6, C-7, C-8, C-9, C-10, C-11, C-12, C-13, C-15, C-16, G-2, and G-3 (§§ 701.53, 701.60, 701.69, to 701.78, 701.80, 701.81, 701.96 and 701.97). This responsibility shall include (1) a finding that the practice is needed and practicable on the farm, and with respect to drainage practices, a finding as to whether any land proposed for drainage is Wetland Type 3, 4, or 5, as described in U.S. Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service, Circular 39, "Wetlands of the United States," published in 1956, (2) necessary site selection, other preliminary work, and layout work of the practice, (3) necessary supervision of the installation, and (4) certification of performance for all requirements of the practice except those for which a certification by the farmer or rancher is to be accepted in accordance with instructions issued by the Deputy Administrator. For practice

C-1 (§ 701.66), the Soil Conservation Service is responsible (i) for determining that the practice is needed and practicable on the farm, and (ii) for necessary site selection, other preliminary work, and layout work of the practice. For practices B-6, B-8, and C-3 (§§ 701.59, 701.61 and 701.68), the Soil Conservation Service is responsible for determining that the practice is needed and practicable on the farm. In addition, upon agreement of the State committee and the State conservationist of the Soil Conservation Service, responsibility for all or part of the unassigned technical phases of these or other practices may be assigned to the Soil Conservation Service for all counties in the State or for specified counties. The State conservationist of the Soil Conservation Service may utilize assistance from private, State, or Federal agencies in carrying out these assigned responsibilities. These assigned responsibilities will not apply in counties with respect to which the Deputy Administrator and the Administrator, SCS, agree that it would not be administratively practicable for the Soil Conservation Service to discharge these responsibilities. In such counties, these responsibilities shall be assumed by the county committees. The Soil Conservation Service will utilize to the full extent available resources of the State forestry agencies in carrying out its assigned responsibilities for practice A-8 (§ 701.53).

(b) The Forest Service is responsible for the technical phases of practices A-7 and B-10 (§§ 701.52 and 701.63). This responsibility shall include (1) providing necessary specialized technical assistance, (2) development of specifications for forestry practices, and (3) working through State and county committees, determining performance in meeting these specifications. The Forest Service may utilize assistance from private, State, or Federal agencies in carrying out these assigned responsibilities, but services of State forestry agencies will be utilized to the full extent such services are available.

§ 701.11 Rates of cost-sharing.

(a) The maximum Federal cost-share for each practice shall be the percentage of the average cost of performing the practice considered necessary to obtain the needed performance of the practice, but which will be such that the farmer or rancher will make a substantial contribution to the cost of performing the

practice. Rates of cost-sharing shall not be in excess of 50 percent of the average cost of performing the practices, except that higher rates of cost-sharing may be approved by the Director, Farmer Programs Division, ASCS:

(1) For practices which have long lasting conservation benefits and from which the returns to farmer or rancher are remote; or

(2) In situations where higher rates of cost-sharing are essential to bring about the use of a practice or to increase the use of a practice on a substantial number of farms or ranches.

(b) For the purpose of establishing rates of cost-sharing, the average cost of performing a practice may be the average cost for a State, a county, a part of a county, or a farm or ranch, as determined by the State committee.

(c) The rates of cost-sharing for practices included in the county program may be lower than the rates approved for general use in the State.

[32 F.R. 11117, Aug. 1, 1967, as amended by Amdt. 4, 33 F.R. 12133, Aug. 28, 1968]

§ 701.12 Items of cost on which rates of cost-sharing may be based.

Except as otherwise provided by the wording of the practices contained in this subpart or elsewhere in the program, the cost of any direct and significant factor in the performance of a practice may be considered in establishing the rate of cost-sharing for the practice.

§ 701.13 State handbooks, bulletins, instructions, and forms.

The Deputy Administrator is authorized to prepare and issue State handbooks, bulletins, instructions, and forms required in administering the program. Copies of State handbooks, bulletins, instructions, and forms containing detailed information with respect to the program as it applies to specific States, counties, areas, and farms and ranches will be available in the office of the State committee and the office of the county committee. Persons wishing to participate in the program should obtain from the State committee or county committee all information needed in order to comply with all provisions of the program. APPROVAL OF CONSERVATION PRACTICES ON INDIVIDUAL FARMS OR RANCHES § 701.14 Opportunity for requesting

cost-sharing.

Each farmer or rancher, regardless of his race, creed, color, or national origin,

shall be given an opportunity to request that the Federal Government share in the cost of those practices on which he considers he needs such assistance in order to permit their performance on his farm or ranch. The county committee, taking into consideration the farmer's or rancher's request and any conservation plan developed by the farmer or rancher with the assistance of any State or Federal agency, and without regard to the race, creed, color, or national origin of the farmer or rancher, shall direct the available funds for cost-sharing to those farms and ranches and to those practices where cost-sharing is considered most essential to the accomplishment of the basic conservation objective of the Department-the use of each acre of agricultural land within its capabilities and the treatment of each acre in accordance with its needs for protection and improvement.

§ 701.15 Prior request for cost-sharing.

Costs will be shared only for those practices, or components of practices, for which cost-sharing is requested by the farmer or rancher before performance thereof is started, except that the Director, Farmer Programs Division, ASCS, may authorize the acceptance of requests for cost-sharing filled within a reasonable period after performance is started for (a) practices E-3, F-3, and F-4 (§§ 701.89, 701.93 and 701.94), and (b) other practices where the farmer or rancher establishes that he intended to file a prior request for cost-sharing but was prevented from doing so for reasons beyond his control. For practices for which (1) approval was given under the preceding year's program, (2) performance was started but not completed during that program year, and (3) the county committee believes the extension of the approval to the current year's program is justified under the current year's program regulations and provisions, the filing of the request for cost-sharing under the preceding year's program may be regarded as meeting the requirement of the current year's program that a request for cost-sharing be filed before performance of the practice is started. § 701.16 Method and extent of approval.

The county committee, in accordance with a method approved by the State committee, will determine the extent to which Federal funds will be made available to share the cost of each approved

practice on each farm or ranch, taking into consideration the county allocation, the conservation problems in the county and of the individual farm or ranch, and the conservation work for which requested Federal cost-sharing is considered by the county committee as most needed in the current program year. The method approved shall provide for the issuance of notices of approval showing for each approved practice the number of units of the practice for which the Federal Government will share in the cost and the amount of the Federal costshare for the performance of that number of units of the practice. To the extent practicable, notices of approved practices shall be issued before performance of the practices is started. No practice may be approved for cost-sharing except as authorized by the national, State, or county program, or in accordance with procedures incorporated therein. Available funds for cost-sharing shall not be allocated on a farm or acreage-quota basis, but shall be directed to the accomplishment of the most enduring conservation benefits attainable.

Federal cost-sharing may be authorized under the program only for the establishment or installation of the practices contained in this subpart. The establishment or installation of a practice, for the purposes of the program, shall be deemed to include the replacement, enlargement, or restoration of practices for which cost-sharing has been allowed if the practice has served for its normal lifespan, or if all of the following conditions exist:

(a) Replacement, enlargement, or restoration of the practice is needed to meet the conservation problem.

(b) The failure of the original practice was not due to the lack of proper maintenance by the current operator.

(c) The county committee believes that the replacement, enlargement, or restoration of the practice merits consideration under the program to an equal extent with other practices for which cost-sharing has not been allowed under a previous program.

§ 701.19 Pooling agreements.

Farmers or ranchers in any local area may agree in writing, with the approval of the county committee, to perform designated amounts of practices which, by conserving or improving the agricultural resources of the community, will solve a mutual conservation problem on the farms or ranches of the participants. For purposes of eligibility for costsharing, practices carried out under such an approved written agreement will be regarded as having been carried out on the farms or ranches of the persons who performed the practices.

§ 701.19a Special provisions for lowincome farmers and ranchers.

(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this subpart, the county committee may approve, in the case of lowincome farmers and ranchers as defined in this section, (1) rates of cost-sharing in excess of 50 percent of the average cost of performing practices, (2) costsharing for practice E-5, Home gardens, § 701.90a, (3) cost-sharing for Christmas tree plantings under practice A-7, § 701.52, on any farmland owned and operated by them, and (4) cost-sharing for drainage practices C-9, C-10, and C-11, §§ 701.74, 701.75, and 701.76, on any farmland owned and operated by them (other than Types 3, 4, and 5 wetlands and any other land for which cost-sharing is precluded by the provisions of Public Law 87-732) without regard to whether the farmland has previously been in agricultural production.

(b) A low-income farmer or rancher is a farmer or rancher who, as determined by the county committee, is a small producer who is largely dependent upon his income from farming or ranching and whose prospective income and financial resources for the current year are such that he could not reasonably be expected to perform needed conservation practices at the rates of cost-sharing applicable to other farmers and ranchers in the county. In making such determinations the county committee shall take into consideration such factors as the size and type of farming operations, estimated net worth, estimated gross family farm income, estimated family off-farm income, number of dependents, unusual expenses such as those resulting from illness, misfortune, or disaster, and other factors affecting the individual's ability to contribute to the cost of conservation practices.

(c) In approving requests for costsharing, the county committee shall give special consideration to requests filed by low-income farmers and ranchers.

[33 F.R. 12133, Aug. 28, 1968]

PRACTICE COMPLETION REQUIREMENTS § 701.20 Completion of practices.

Federal cost-sharing for the practices contained in this subpart is conditioned upon the performance of the practices in accordance with all applicable specifications and program provisions. Except as provided in §§ 701.21 to 701.23, practices must be completed during the program year in order to be eligible for costsharing.

§ 701.21 Practices substantially

pleted during program year.

com

Approved practices may be deemed, for purposes of payment of cost-shares, to have been carried out during a program year, if the county committee determines that they are substantially completed by the end of that program year. However, no cost-shares for such practices shall be paid until they have been completed in accordance with all applicable specifications and program provisions, except as provided in § 701.22. § 701.22 Practices requiring more than one program year for completion. Cost-shares approved under a program will not be considered as earned until all components of the approved practices are completed in accordance with all applicable specifications and program provisions. Cost-shares for completed components may be paid only after the practice is substantially completed, and only on the condition that the farmer or rancher will complete the remaining components of the practice within the time prescribed by the county committee which will afford the farmer or rancher a fair and reasonable opportunity to complete them, unless prevented from doing so for reasons beyond his control and regardless of whether cost-sharing therefor is offered, or refund the costshares paid to him.

termines, in accordance with standards approved by the State committee, that the practice was carried out in a manner which would normally result in the establishment of a good stand, and that failure to establish a good stand was due to weather or other conditions beyond the control of the farm or ranch operator. The county committee may require as a condition of cost-sharing in such cases that the area be reseeded or replanted or that other needed protective measures be carried out. Cost-sharing in such cases may be approved also for repeat applications of measures previously carried out or for additional eligible measures. Cost-sharing for such measures shall be approved to the extent such measures are needed to assure a good stand even though less than that required by the applicable practice wording for initial approvals.

§ 701.24 Failure to meet minimum requirements.

Notwithstanding other provisions of the program, costs may be shared for performance actually rendered even though the minimum requirements for a practice are not met, if the farmer or rancher establishes to the satisfaction of the county committee and the county representative of any other agency having responsibility for technical phases of the practice (a) that he made a reasonable effort to meet the minimum requirements, and (b) that the practice as performed adequately meets the conservation problem.

FEDERAL COST-SHARES

§ 701.25 Conservation materials and services.

(a) Availability. Part or all of the Federal cost-share for an approved practice may be in the form of conservation materials or services furnished through the program for use in carrying out the practice. Materials or services may not be furnished to persons who are indebted to the Federal Government, as indicated by the debt record maintained in the office of the county committee, except in those cases where the agency to which the debt is owed waives its rights to setoff in order to permit the furnishing of materials and services.

(b) Cost to farmer or rancher. The farmer or rancher will be responsible for paying that part of the cost of the material or service which is in excess of the