Eligible owners and contract growers

(a) In addition, to other eligibility rules that may apply, to be eligible as a:

(1) Livestock owner for benefits with respect to the death of an animal or sale of an injured animal at a reduced price under this subpart, the applicant must have had legal ownership of the eligible livestock on the day the livestock died or was injured and sold at a reduced price and under conditions in which no contract grower could have been eligible for benefits with respect to the animal. Eligible types of animal categories for which losses can be calculated for an owner are specified in § 1416.304(a).

(2) Contract grower for benefits with respect to the death of an animal, the animal must be in one of the categories specified on § 1416.304(b), and the contract grower must have had,

(i) A written agreement with the owner of eligible livestock setting the specific terms, conditions, and obligations of the parties involved regarding the production of livestock;

(ii) Control of the eligible livestock on the day the livestock died; and

(iii) A risk of loss in the animal.

(b) A livestock owner or contract grower seeking payment must be an eligible producer as defined in subpart A of this part and other applicable USDA regulations.

(c) All of an eligible livestock owner's or contract grower's interest in livestock in a physical location county must be taken into account and summarized by livestock unit when determining the extent of payment eligibility.

(d) Livestock owners are eligible for benefits for injured animals sold at reduced price only when those animals are not in a contract grower's inventory for which a contract grower seeks benefits for death losses. Contract growers are not eligible for benefits for injured animals sold at a reduced price.

[79 FR 21097, Apr. 14, 2014, as amended at 83 FR 49469, Oct. 2, 2018]