7 CFR § 786.104 - Eligibility.

(a) Producers in the United States will be eligible to receive dairy disaster benefits under this part only if they have suffered dairy production losses, previously uncompensated by disaster payments including any previous dairy disaster payment program, during the claim period applicable to a natural disaster declaration in a disaster county. To be eligible to receive payments under this part, producers in a dairy operation must:

(1) Have produced and commercially marketed milk in the United States and commercially marketed the milk produced anytime during the period of January 2, 2005 through December 30, 2007;

(2) Be a producer on a dairy farm operation physically located in an eligible county where dairy production losses were incurred as a result of a disaster for which an applicable natural disaster declaration was issued between January 1, 2005 and December 31, 2007, and limit their claims to losses that occurred in those counties, specific to conditions resulting from the declared disaster as described in the natural disaster declaration;

(3) Provide adequate proof, to the satisfaction of the FSA county committee, of the average number of cows in the dairy herd and annual milk production commercially marketed by all persons in the eligible dairy operation during the years of the base period (2003 and 2004 calendar years) and applicable disaster year that corresponds with the issuance date of the applicable natural disaster declaration, or other period as determined by FSA, to determine the total pounds of eligible losses that will be used for payment; and

(4) Apply for payments during the application period established by the Deputy Administrator.

(b) Payments may be made for losses suffered by an otherwise eligible producer who is now deceased or is a dissolved entity if a representative who currently has authority to enter into a contract for the producer or the producer's estate signs the application for payment. Proof of authority to sign for the deceased producer's estate or a dissolved entity must be provided. If a producer is now a dissolved general partnership or joint venture, all members of the general partnership or joint venture at the time of dissolution or their duly-authorized representatives must sign the application for payment.

(c) Producers associated with a dairy operation must submit a timely application and satisfy the terms and conditions of this part, instructions issued by FSA, and instructions contained in the application to be eligible for benefits under this part.

(d) As a condition to receive benefits under this part, a producer must have been in compliance with the Highly Erodible Land Conservation and Wetland Conservation provisions of 7 CFR part 12 for the calendar year applicable to the natural disaster declaration and loss claim period, and must not otherwise be barred from receiving benefits under 7 CFR part 12 or any other law or regulation.

(e) Payments are limited to losses in eligible counties, in eligible disaster years.

(f) All payments under this part are subject to the availability of funds.

(g) Eligible losses are determined from the applicable base annual production, as defined in § 786.102, that corresponds to the natural disaster declaration and must have occurred during that same period as follows:

(1) For disaster declarations for disasters during a calendar year (2005, 2006, or 2007), the disaster claim period is the full calendar year and

(2) For disaster declarations issued during one calendar year that ends in another calendar year, the producer will be eligible for both disaster years.

(h) Deductions in eligibility will be made for any disaster payments previously received for the loss including any made under a previous dairy disaster assistance payment program for 2005.