Notwithstanding any other provision of law, whenever base acreages are in effect for corn, the Secretary shall require, as a condition of eligibility for price support on corn, that the producer (1) devote an acreage of cropland (tilled in normal rotation), at the option of the producer, to either the acreage reserve program for corn or the conservation reserve program, equal to 15 per centum of such producer’s farm base acreage for corn, and (2) not exceed such farm base acreage for corn: Provided, That price support may be made available to any producer who does not meet the foregoing requirements at such level, not in excess of the level of price support to producers who meet such requirements, as the Secretary determines will facilitate the effective operation of the price support program. Corn acreage allotments shall not be effective for the 1956 crop.

Not later than December 15, 1956, the Secretary shall conduct a referendum of producers of corn in 1956 in the commercial corn-producing area to determine whether such producers favor a price-support program as provided in subsection (c) of this section for the 1957 and subsequent crops in lieu of acreage allotments as provided in the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938, as amended [7 U.S.C. 1281 et seq.], and price support as provided in section 1441 of this title.

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, if two-thirds or more of the producers voting in the referendum conducted pursuant to subsection (b) favor a price-support program as provided in this subsection, no acreage allotment of corn shall be established for the commercial corn-producing area for any county, or for any farm, with respect to the 1957 and subsequent crops, and price support made available for such crops by Commodity Credit Corporation shall be at such level as the Secretary determines will assist producers in marketing corn in the normal channels of trade but not encourage the uneconomic production of corn.

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, (1) the level of price support for the 1956 crop of grain sorghums, barley, rye, and oats, respectively, shall be 76 per centum of the parity price for the commodity as of May 1, 1956, (2) the level of price support for corn produced outside the commercial corn-producing area, for any crop for which base acreages are in effect (except as provided in (3) below), shall be 82½ per centum of the level of price support for corn in the commercial corn-producing area to producers complying with acreage limitations, and (3) if price support is made available for the 1957 crop of corn in the commercial corn-producing area to producers not complying with acreage limitations, price support shall be made available for the 1957 crop of grain sorghums, barley, rye, oats, and corn produced outside the commercial corn-producing area, respectively, at a level, not less than 70 per centum of the parity price as of the beginning of the marketing year, determined by the Secretary to be fair and reasonable in relation to the level at which price support is made available for corn in the commercial corn-producing area to producers not complying with acreage limitations, taking into consideration the normal price relationships between such commodity and corn in the commercial area, the feed value of such commodity in relation to corn, the supply of such commodity in relation to the demand therefor, and the ability to dispose of stocks of such commodity acquired through price support programs.

(May 28, 1956, ch. 327, title III, § 308, 70 Stat. 206.)