Subject to subsections (b) and (c), for the purposes of determining the amount of the counter-cyclical payments to be paid to the producers on a farm for long grain rice and medium grain rice under section 8714 [1] of this title, the base acres of rice on the farm shall be apportioned using the 4-year average of the percentages of acreage planted in the applicable State to long grain rice and medium grain rice during the 2003 through 2006 crop years, as determined by the Secretary.

As an alternative to the calculation method described in subsection (a), the Secretary shall provide producers on a farm the opportunity to elect to apportion rice base acres on the farm using the 4-year average of—

(1) the percentages of acreage planted on the farm to long grain rice and medium grain rice during the 2003 through 2006 crop years;

(2) the percentages of any acreage on the farm that the producers were prevented from planting to long grain rice and medium grain rice during the 2003 through 2006 crop years because of drought, flood, other natural disaster, or other condition beyond the control of the producers, as determined by the Secretary; and

(3) in the case of a crop year for which a producer on a farm elected not to plant to long grain and medium grain rice during the 2003 through 2006 crop years, the percentages of acreage planted in the applicable State to long grain rice and medium grain rice, as determined by the Secretary.

In carrying out this section, the Secretary shall use the same total base acres, payment acres, and payment yields established with respect to rice under sections 7911 and 7912 of this title, as in effect on September 30, 2007, subject to any adjustment under section 8711 of this title.

(Pub. L. 110–234, title I, § 1108, May 22, 2008, 122 Stat. 952; Pub. L. 110–246, § 4(a), title I, § 1108, June 18, 2008, 122 Stat. 1664, 1681.)