(a) This subpart establishes the terms and conditions under which the Tree Assistance Program (TAP) will be administered under Title I of the Agricultural Act of 2014 (Pub. L. 113-79, the 2014 Farm Bill), as amended.

(b) Eligible orchardists and nursery tree growers will be compensated as specified in § 1416.406 for eligible tree, bush, and vine losses in excess of 15 percent mortality, or, where applicable, damage in excess of 15 percent, adjusted for normal mortality and normal damage, that occurred in the calendar year (or loss period in the case of plant disease) for which benefits are being requested and as a direct result of a natural disaster.

(c) Eligible pecan tree losses incurred in the 2017 and 2018 calendar years not meeting the mortality loss threshold of paragraph (b) of this section with a tree mortality loss in excess of 7.5 percent (adjusted for normal mortality) will be compensated for eligible losses as specified in § 1416.406. For 2017 calendar year losses, up to a maximum of $15,000,000 is available.

The program will be administered as specified in § 1416.2 and in this subpart.

The following definitions apply to this subpart. The definitions in parts 718 of this title and 1400 of this chapter also apply, except where they conflict with the definitions in this section.

Bush means, a low, branching, woody plant, from which at maturity of the bush, an annual fruit or vegetable crop is produced for commercial purposes, such as a blueberry bush. The definition does not cover plants that produce a bush after the normal crop is harvested such as asparagus.

Commercial use means used in the operation of a business activity engaged in as a means of livelihood for profit by the eligible producer.

Commercially viable means an eligible tree, bush, or vine, though damaged, that can rejuvenate and return to an acceptable level of commercial production at some time with rehabilitation and without replanting. A commercially viable tree, bush, or vine, regardless of the extent of damage or years of reduced production, is always excluded and never included as part of mortality under § 1416.403.

County office means the FSA or U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Service Center that is responsible for servicing the farm on which the trees, bushes, or vines are located.

Cutting means a piece of a vine which was planted in the ground to propagate a new vine for the commercial production of fruit, such as grapes, kiwi fruit, passion fruit, or similar fruit.

Eligible nursery tree grower means a person or legal entity that produces nursery, ornamental, fruit, nut, or Christmas trees for commercial sale.

Eligible orchardist means a person or legal entity that produces annual crops from trees, bushes, or vines for commercial purposes.

FSA means the Farm Service Agency.

Lost means, with respect to the extent of damage to a tree or other plant, that the plant is destroyed or the damage is such that it would, as determined by FSA, be more cost effective to replace the tree or other plant than to leave it in its deteriorated, low-producing state.

Natural disaster means plant disease, insect infestation, drought, fire, freeze, flood, earthquake, lightning, or other natural occurrence. Each of these types of disasters must be extreme, abnormal, and damaging as well as of significant magnitude or severity, as determined by the Deputy Administrator.

Normal damage means the percentage, as established for the area by the FSA State Committee, of trees, bushes, or vines in the stand that would normally be damaged during a calendar year for a producer.

Normal mortality means percentage, as established for the area by the FSA State Committee, of expected lost trees, bushes, or vines in the stand that normally occurs during a calendar year for a producer. This term refers to the number of whole trees, bushes, or vines that are destroyed or damaged beyond rehabilitation. Mortality does not include partial damage such as lost tree limbs.

Seedling means an immature tree, bush, or vine that was planted in the ground or other growing medium to grow a new tree, bush, or vine for commercial purposes.

Stand means a contiguous acreage of the same type of trees (including Christmas trees, ornamental trees, nursery trees, and potted trees), bushes (including shrubs), or vines.

Tree means a tall, woody plant having comparatively great height, and a single trunk from which an annual crop is produced for commercial purposes, such as a maple tree for syrup, papaya tree, or orchard tree. Trees used for pulp or timber are not considered eligible trees under this subpart.

Vine means a perennial plant grown under normal conditions from which an annual fruit crop is produced for commercial market for human consumption, such as grape, kiwi, or passion fruit, and that has a flexible stem supported by climbing, twining, or creeping along a surface. Perennials that are normally propagated as annuals such as tomato plants, biennials such as the plants that produce strawberries, and annuals such as pumpkins, squash, cucumbers, watermelon, and other melons, are excluded from the term vine in this subpart.

(a) To qualify for any assistance under this subpart, except for assistance under § 1416.400(c), the eligible orchardist or nursery tree grower must first have suffered more than a 15 percent tree, bush, or vine mortality loss on a stand (adjusted for normal mortality) as a result of natural disaster as determined by the Deputy Administrator. For assistance for losses to pecan trees under § 1416.400(c), the eligible orchardist or nursery tree grower must first have suffered a mortality loss of more than 7.5 percent (adjusted for normal mortality) on a stand as a result of natural disaster as determined by the Deputy Administrator.

(b) The qualifying loss of a stand of trees, bushes, or vines specified in paragraph (a) of this section will be determined based on:

(1) Each eligible disaster event, except for losses due to plant disease;

(2) For plant disease, the time period, as determined by the Deputy Administrator, for which the stand is infected.

(c) Mortality or damage loss not eligible for inclusion as a qualifying loss under this section or for payment under § 1416.406 includes those losses where:

(1) The loss or damage could have been prevented through reasonable and available measures; and

(2) The trees, bushes, or vines, in the absence of a natural disaster, would normally have required rehabilitation or replanting within the 12-month period following the loss.

(d) The damage or loss must be visible and obvious to the county committee representative. If the damage is no longer visible, the county committee may accept other evidence of the loss as it determines is reasonable.

(e) The county committee may require information from a qualified expert, as determined by the county committee, to determine extent of loss in the case of plant disease or insect infestation.

(f) The Deputy Administrator will determine the types of trees, bushes, and vines that are eligible.

(g) A stand that did not suffer a qualifying mortality loss as specified in paragraph (a) of this section is not eligible for payment. The qualifying mortality loss will be determined based on the eligible trees, bushes, or vines that reached mortality, which means that the tree, bush, or vine died, above and below ground, as a result of an eligible natural disaster event. If an eligible tree, bush, or vine is damaged to such an extent that it is not commercially viable, now or at any time in the future, the tree, bush, or vine can be considered dead in determining if the requisite qualifying mortality loss threshold in paragraph (a) of this section is reached.

(a) Once the requisite qualifying eligible mortality loss is determined according to § 1416.403, to be eligible for TAP payments, the eligible orchardist or nursery tree grower must:

(1) Have planted, or be considered to have planted (by purchase prior to the loss of existing stock planted for commercial purposes) trees, bushes, or vines for commercial purposes, or have a production history, for commercial purposes, of planted or existing trees, bushes, or vines;

(2) Have suffered eligible losses of eligible trees, bushes, or vines, as a result of a natural disaster or related condition;

(3) Have continuously owned the stand from the time of the disaster until the time that the TAP application is submitted.

(b) A new owner of an orchard or nursery who does not meet the requirements of paragraph (a) of this section may receive TAP payments approved for the previous owner of the orchard or nursery and not paid to the previous owner, if the previous owner of the orchard or nursery agrees to the succession in writing and if the new owner:

(1) Acquires ownership of trees, bushes, or vines for which benefits have been approved;

(2) Agrees to complete all approved practices that the original owner has not completed; and

(3) Otherwise meets and assumes full responsibility for all provisions of this part, including refund of payments made to the previous owner, if applicable.

(c) A producer seeking payment must not be ineligible under the restrictions applicable to citizenship and foreign corporations contained in § 1416.3(b) and must meet all other requirements of subpart A of this part.

(d) Federal, State, and local governments and agencies and political subdivisions thereof are not eligible for payment under this subpart.

(a) To apply for TAP, a producer that suffered eligible tree, bush, or vine losses must provide an application for payment and supporting documentation to FSA or within 90 calendar days of the disaster event or date when the loss of trees, bushes, or vines is apparent to the producer.

(b) The producer must submit the application for payment within the time specified in paragraph (a) of this section to the FSA administrative county office that maintains the producer's farm records for the agricultural operation.

(c) A complete application includes all of the following:

(1) A completed application form provided by FSA;

(2) An acreage report for the farming operation as specified in part 718, subpart B, of this title;

(3) Subject to verification and a loss amount determined appropriate by the county committee, a written estimate of the number of trees, bushes, or vines lost or damaged that is certified by the producer or a qualified expert, including the number of acres on which the loss occurred;

(4) Sufficient evidence of the loss to allow the county committee to calculate whether an eligible loss occurred; and

(5) A farm operating plan, if a current farm operating plan is not already on file in the FSA county office.

(d) Before requests for payment will be approved, the county committee:

(1) Must make an eligibility determination based on a complete application for assistance;

(2) Must verify actual qualifying losses and the number of acres involved by on-site visual inspection of the land and the trees, bushes, or vines;

(3) May request additional information and may consider all relevant information in making its determination; and

(4) Must verify actual costs to complete the practices, as documented by the producer.

(a) Once the loss threshold in § 1416.403(a) is satisfied, payment to an eligible orchardist or nursery tree grower for the cost of replanting or rehabilitating trees, bushes, or vines damaged or lost due to a natural disaster, in excess of 15 percent damage or mortality (adjusted for normal damage or mortality), will be calculated as follows:

(1) For the cost of planting seedlings or cuttings, to replace lost trees, bushes, or vines, the lesser of:

(i) 65 percent of the actual cost of the practice for eligible producers, or 75 percent of the actual cost of the practice for an eligible producer who is a beginning or veteran farmer or rancher, or

(ii) The amount calculated using rates established by the Deputy Administrator for the practice.

(2) For the cost of pruning, removal, and other costs incurred for salvaging damaged trees, bushes, or vines, or in the case of mortality, to prepare the land to replant trees, bushes, or vines, the lesser of:

(i) 50 percent of the actual cost of the practice for eligible producers, or 75 percent of the actual cost of the practice for an eligible producer who is a beginning or veteran farmer or rancher, or

(ii) The amount calculated using rates established by the Deputy Administrator for the practice.

(b) An orchardist or nursery tree grower that did not plant the trees, bushes, or vines, but has a production history for commercial purposes on planted or existing trees and lost the trees, bushes, or vines as a result of a natural disaster, in excess of 15 percent mortality (adjusted for normal mortality), will be eligible for the salvage, pruning, and land preparation payment calculation as specified in paragraph (a)(2) of this section. To be eligible for the replanting payment calculation as specified in paragraph (a)(1) of this section, the orchardist or nursery grower who did not plant the stock must be a new owner who meets all of the requirements of § 1416.404(b) or be considered the owner of the trees under provisions appearing elsewhere in this subpart.

(c) Eligible costs for payment calculation include costs for:

(1) Seedlings or cuttings, for tree, bush, or vine replanting;

(2) Site preparation and debris handling within normal horticultural practices for the type of stand being re-established, and necessary to ensure successful plant survival;

(3) Pruning, removal, and other costs incurred to salvage damaged trees, bushes, or vines, or, in the case of tree mortality, to prepare the land to replant trees, bushes, or vines;

(4) Chemicals and nutrients necessary for successful establishment;

(5) Labor to plant seedlings or cuttings as determined reasonable by the county committee; and

(6) Labor used to transplant existing seedlings established through natural regeneration into a productive tree stand.

(d) The following costs are not eligible:

(1) Costs for fencing, irrigation, irrigation equipment, protection of seedlings from wildlife, general improvements, re-establishing structures, and windscreens.

(2) Any other costs not listed in paragraphs (c)(1) through (6) of this section, unless specifically determined eligible by the Deputy Administrator.

(3) Costs or expenses that the eligible orchardist or nursery tree grower did not actually bear or incur because someone or some other entity bore or incurred those costs or expenses, or the costs were reimbursed under another program. For example, if under any other program the expenses are paid for on behalf of the eligible orchardist or nursery tree grower, those expenses are not eligible for cost share under this subpart.

(e) Producers must provide the county committee documentation of actual costs to complete the practices, such as receipts for labor costs, equipment rental, and purchases of seedlings or cuttings.

(f) When lost stands are replanted, the types planted may be different from those originally planted. The alternative types will be eligible for payment if the new types have the same general end use, as determined and approved by the county committee. Payments for alternative types will be based on the lesser of rates established to plant the types actually lost or the cost to establish the alternative used. If the type of plantings, seedlings, or cuttings differs significantly from the types lost, the costs may not be approved for payment.

(g) When lost stands are replanted, the types planted may be planted on the same farm in a different location than the lost stand. To be eligible for payment, site preparation costs for the new location must not exceed the cost to re-establish the original stand in the original location.

(h) Eligible orchardists or nursery tree growers may elect not to replant the entire stand. If so, the county committee will calculate payment based on the number of qualifying trees, bushes, or vines actually replanted.

(i) If a practice, such as site preparation, is needed to both replant and rehabilitate trees, bushes, or vines, the producer must document the expenses attributable to replanting versus rehabilitation. The county committee will determine whether the documentation of expenses detailing the amounts attributable to replanting versus rehabilitation is acceptable. In the event that the county committee determines the documentation does not include acceptable detail of cost allocation, the county committee will pro-rate payment based on physical inspection of the loss, damage, replanting, and rehabilitation.

(j) The cumulative total quantity of acres planted to trees, bushes, or vines for which a producer may receive payment under this part for losses that cannot exceed 1,000 acres per program year.

(a) Eligible orchardists and nursery tree growers must execute all required documents and complete the TAP-funded practice within 12 months of application approval.

(b) Eligible orchardist or nursery tree growers must allow representatives of FSA to visit the site for the purposes of certifying compliance with TAP requirements.

(c) Producers who do not meet all applicable requirements and obligations will not be eligible for payment.