(a) If requested by FSA, an applicant must provide documentation that establishes the applicant's ownership share and value at risk in the crop.
(b) The applicant must provide acceptable documentation that is dated and contains all information required to substantiate the applicant's certification to the satisfaction of the FSA county committee. Verifiable documentation is required to substantiate the total dollar value loss and associated affected production, grading factors, and nutritional factors. FSA may verify the records with records on file at the warehouse, gin, or other entity that received or may have received the reported production. Reliable production records are required to substantiate the reported amount of affected production for applications not based on the total dollar value loss.
(c) To be considered acceptable, verifiable documentation for grain crops that were sold may come from any time between harvest and sale of the affected production, unless the FSA county committee determines the record is not representative of the condition within 30 days of harvest. For all other crops, the verifiable documentation must come from tests or analysis completed within 30 days of harvest, unless the FSA county committee determines that the record is representative of the condition of the affected production at time of harvest. Examples of acceptable records for purposes of this paragraph (c) include:
(1) Warehouse grading sheets;
(2) Settlement sheets;
(3) Sales receipts showing grade and price or disposition to secondary market due to quality; and
(4) Laboratory test results.
(d) For forage crops, producers must submit verifiable documentation showing the nutrient factors for the affected production. Producers must also submit verifiable documentation of the historical nutrient factors for the 3 preceding crop years if available. The nutrient factors that must be documented for a crop will determined by the FSA county committee based on the standard practice for the crop in that county.
(e) For all crops other than forage crops, producers must submit verifiable documentation of the total dollar value loss due to quality, if available, and verifiable documentation of grading factors due to quality.
(f) The participant is responsible for:
(1) Retaining, providing, and summarizing, at time of application and whenever required by FSA, the best available verifiable production records for the crop;
(2) Providing the information in a manner that can be easily understood by the FSA county committee; and
(3) Providing supporting documentation about the disaster event if the FSA county committee has reason to question the disaster event.
(e) Participants must provide all records for any production of a crop that is grown with an arrangement, agreement, or contract for guaranteed payment.
(f) Participants are required to retain documentation in support of their application for 3 years after the date of approval.
(g) Participants receiving QLA Program payments or any other person who furnishes such information to USDA must permit authorized representatives of USDA or the Government Accountability Office, during regular business hours, to enter the agricultural operation and to inspect, examine, and make copies of books, records, or other items for the purpose of confirming the accuracy of the information provided by the participant.