Declaration of Farm Operator Information

FORM 7-21FARMOP
2012 Instructions
(7-11)

INSTRUCTIONS FOR DECLARATION OF
FARM OPERATOR INFORMATION
(For Certification and Reporting Requirements of the
Reclamation Reform Act of 1982)

Bureau of Reclamation
Do not use this form after December 31, 2012

OMB Control No.: 1006-0005

Paperwork Reduction Act
This information is being collected to establish landholder compliance with Federal reclamation law. Response to this request is mandatory in
accordance with Public Law 97-293 and 43 CFR 428.4 through 43 CFR 428.8. Public reporting burden for this form is estimated to average
1 hour 18 minutes per response, including time for reviewing instructions, gathering and maintaining data, and completing and reviewing the
form. An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a
currently valid Office of Management and Budget (OMB) control number. Direct comments regarding the burden estimated or any other aspect
of these forms to Manager, Land Resources Office, Code 84-53000, Bureau of Reclamation, PO Box 25007, Denver CO 80225.

GENERAL INFORMATION

WHO MUST SUBMIT THIS FORM

“General Information About RRA Forms” (Form 7-21INFO)
provides basic instructions on using Reclamation Reform Act of
1982 (RRA) forms. Ask your district office for this form each
year to keep current. Refer to the definitions at the end of
Form 7-21INFO whenever the meaning of a term is not clear to
you. Please note, some terms such as “irrigable land,”
“irrigation land,” and “irrigation water” have special definitions
when used in these forms which differ from their common
meaning. Other terms and corresponding definitions that are
specific to the RRA forms are:

You must submit a “Declaration of Farm Operator Information”
(Form 7-21FARMOP) if:

•

“Land” or “acres” means irrigable and/or irrigation land.

•

“You” means the farm operator or authorized agent of the
farm operator, or, as applicable, the part owner of a farm
operator that is a legal entity.

•

“We,” “us,” “our,” or “Reclamation” means the Bureau of
Reclamation.

•

•

•

You are a farm operator and you provide services to more
than 960 nonexempt acres westwide, held by a single trust
or legal entity or any combination of trusts and legal entities;
or

•

You are a part owner of a legal entity that is a farm operator
that must submit RRA forms and the farm operator is
providing services to land that you formerly owned as
excess and sold or transferred at a price approved by us.

The requirement to submit a Form 7-21FARMOP must be met
even if the farm operator is a legal entity that is 100-percent
family owned, or is only providing services to landholders that
are part owners of the farm operator.
WHERE TO SUBMIT FORMS

“Farm operator” means an individual or legal entity other
than the owner, lessee, or sublessee that performs any
portion of the farming operation. This includes farm
managers, but does not include spouses, minor children,
employees for whom the employer pays social security
taxes, or custom service providers.

You must submit a Form 7-21FARMOP to each district in
which you provide services westwide. You must submit an
original form to one district office and may submit copies to
others if you provide services in more than one district.

“Custom service provider” means an individual or legal
entity that provides one specialized, farm-related service
which a farm owner, lessee, sublessee, or farm operator
employs for agreed upon payments (e.g., crop dusters,
custom harvesters, grain haulers, etc.).

You must declare all land to which you and your wholly owned
subsidiary(ies) provide(s) services westwide that is:

WHAT LAND TO INCLUDE

•

subject to the acreage limitation provisions, and

•

held in a trust or held by a legal entity,

•

land held by individuals and estates is not to be included.

Visit www.usbr.gov/rra for more information.

form must be spelled out on the form where the abbreviation is
used for the first time, or on a separate sheet attached to this
form. Please contact your district office or the appropriate
Reclamation office if you have any questions.

For each parcel, you must provide an accurate legal description
or an assessor’s parcel number. Be sure to break down land
parcels as far as necessary to ensure accurate identification.
ANNUAL DECLARATION

ITEM BY ITEM INSTRUCTIONS
You must submit Form 7-21FARMOP each and every year prior
to the delivery of Reclamation irrigation water to the land for
which you provide services if you are required to submit this
form as specified above. You are not required to submit Form
7-21FARMOP if you are a custom service provider as defined
earlier in these instructions.

Farm Operator Information
This section is to be completed by all farm operators.
1.

Enter the farm operator’s name. The farm operator’s name
should be the name of the individual or entity providing the
services to the land, unless the farm operator is an entity
which is a wholly owned subsidiary of another entity. In
that case, the parent entity’s name should be given as the
operator, and the subsidiary’s name should appear on the
lines provided in item 13.

2.

(a)

Check the box that best identifies the farm operator’s
type. If you check the “Other” box, you must write in
your entity’s type.

(b)

If you checked “Other” in item 2(a), how is your
entity taxed by the Internal Revenue Service (check one
box: corporation or partnership). Skip this item and
proceed to item 3(a) if your entity is a religious or
charitable organization that does not meet the RRA
section 219 criteria.

Farm operators and part owners of farm operators who meet the
criteria to submit RRA forms cannot use a “Verification of
Landholdings” (Form 7-21VERIFY) to meet any applicable
RRA forms submittal requirements.
IF THE LAND YOU PROVIDE SERVICES TO CHANGES
Once you have submitted a Form 7-21FARMOP for the
water year, you are not required to submit additional
Forms 7-21FARMOP during that water year if you should either
start providing services to additional lands or cease providing
services to certain lands.
FORMERLY EXCESS LAND
If you are a former owner of land now held in trust or by a legal
entity, such land is not eligible to receive Reclamation irrigation
water if:
•

The land was excess when you owned it;

•

You sold or transferred the excess land at a price approved
by us; and

•

You are the direct or indirect farm operator of that land.

3.

(a) Enter the farm operator’s street address or rural route
number, city, state, and ZIP code. An attorney's
address, “c/o” address, etc., is not acceptable in place
of a street address. Post office box numbers may be
used only if no other address exists.
(b) Enter the mailing address if the farm operator’s mailing
address is different than the street address.

4.

This does not apply if you or the landholder pays the full-cost
rate for any Reclamation irrigation water delivered to your
formerly excess land that is otherwise eligible to receive such
water. See 43 CFR 428.9 and 43 CFR 428.10 of the
Information Requirements for Certain Farm Operations in
Excess of 960 Acres and the Eligibility of Certain Formerly
Excess Land for more information.

(a) Enter the telephone number where questions can be
directed.
(b) Enter the name of a contact person at that telephone
number.

5.

For entities: Enter the state(s) or country(ies) in which the
farm operator is established or registered.

6.

For entities: Enter the Employer Identification Number
(EIN). Leave this blank if the entity does not have an EIN
and is not required to obtain one by the Internal Revenue
Service (IRS).

GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS
Type or print in ink all answers. You must initial and date any
crossouts and corrections. You may attach continuation sheets
to list information. District name abbreviation(s) used on this
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FORM 7-21FARMOP (2012)

Subsidiary(ies) of the Farm Operator (Parent Entity)

Land For Which the Farm Operator Provides
Service(s)

This section is to be completed only by the farm operator
(parent entity) of the wholly owned subsidiary(ies) that
provide(s) the farm operating services.

This section is to be completed by all farm operators.
7.

This section requests information regarding the services you
and your wholly owned subsidiary(ies) provide(s) to land
westwide that is held in a trust or held by a legal entity. For
each parcel, enter the following:

12. Enter the farm operator’s name.
13. List any wholly owned subsidiary(ies) of the parent entity
that provides services to legal entities or trusts. For each
wholly owned subsidiary(ies), include all irrigable and/or
irrigation land parcels westwide for which the
subsidiary(ies) provide(s) services that are held in a trust or
held by a legal entity. Intermediate entities are not
exempted from the requirements to report services they
provide unless they are wholly owned subsidiaries. Such
intermediate entities must complete a separate
Form 7-21FARMOP. If your entity needs to report
additional subsidiaries, please do so on a separate sheet of
paper and attach it to this form.

(a) Name of the district in which the land parcel is located.
(b) Provide an accurate legal description of the land parcel
or an assessor’s parcel number.
(c) Enter the services provided for each land parcel.
(d) Enter the name, address, and telephone number of the
legal entity or trust for whom the services are provided.
(e) Enter the number of acres in each land parcel for which
you provide services.

(a) Enter the subsidiary’s name.

(f) Indicate who decides when the farm operating services
should be provided: you or your entity (self), the
landholder (landholder), or another natural person or
entity (other). Provide a name in the space provided if
you indicate “other.”

(b) Enter the subsidiary’s EIN. Leave this blank if the
subsidiary does not have and is not required by the IRS
to have an EIN.
(c) Provide an accurate legal description or assessor’s
parcel number for the land receiving farm operating
services from the subsidiary.

(g) Indicate who decides what services will be performed
on the land parcels on a daily basis: you or your entity
(self), the landholder (landholder), or another natural
person or entity (other). Provide a name in the space
provided if you indicate “other.”
8.

9.

Part Owners of the Farm Operator
This section is to be completed only by farm operators that are
entities.

Total column 7(e). This is the total number of acres for
which you provide services on this page. If you need to
report services you provide to additional parcels, list them
on page 2.
Enter the farm operator’s name again. (These forms are
often photocopied, so it is necessary to have the farm
operator identified on each page.)

14. Provide your entity’s organizational structure by identifying
all part owners of your entity. Enter the following
information about the part owners:
(a) Part owner's name.
(b) Enter the part owner’s EIN if the part owner is an
entity or trust. Leave this blank if the entity does not
have an EIN and is not required by the IRS to have
an EIN.

10. Continue listing parcels for which you provide services that
are held in a trust or held by a legal entity. See the specific
instructions under item 7 above.

(c) Percentage of the farm operator entity that the part
owner owns.

11. Total column 10(e). This is the total number of acres for
which you provide services on this page. If you need to
report services you provide for additional parcels, please do
so on a separate sheet of paper and attach it to this form.

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FORM 7-21FARMOP (2012)

Farm Operation Summary

22. Indicate whether you or your entity [and/or its
subsidiary(ies)] are authorized to apply for any Federal
assistance from the United States Department of Agriculture
in the name of the landholdings for which you provide
services. Provide a legal description or assessor’s parcel
number for the land to which this applies if you answer
“yes” to this question.

15. Enter the name of each district westwide in which you and
your wholly owned subsidiary(ies) provide(s) services to
land that is held in a trust or held by a legal entity. Circle
the district at which the original form is filed if you provide
services in more than one district.

Signatures

16. For each district, enter the total number of acres for which
you and your wholly owned subsidiary(ies) provide(s)
services. Obtain this information from items 7 and 10. Add
the number of acres in item 16 and enter that number in the
“TOTAL” column (far right column). This is the total
number of acres (that are held in a trust or by a legal entity)
for which you and your wholly owned subsidiary(ies)
provide(s) services. This number should equal the sum of
item 8 and item 11.

23. Read the attestation statements carefully and sign and date
the form in ink. If the farm operator is an entity and that
entity is a partnership, joint tenancy, or tenancy-in-common,
all partners, joint tenants, or co-tenants must sign the form
unless they have provided a written signature authorization
allowing one natural person to sign for the entity. A copy of
the signature authorization must be submitted to each
district to which the entity submits an RRA form(s). The
district office must keep any such signature authorizations
on file.

Land Information
This section is to be completed by individual and entity farm
operators.
17. Enter the farm operator’s name.
18. This question should be answered “yes” if any of the land to
which services are being provided was formerly owned by
the farm operator as excess land. This applies even if the
land was placed under a recordable contract. Skip to
item 20 if you answer “no” to this question.
19. If you answer “yes” to this question, provide a legal
description or an assessor’s parcel number for the land
parcel(s) sold or transferred at a price approved by us.
20. Indicate whether you or your entity [and/or its
subsidiary(ies)] can use the farm operating agreement as
collateral on a loan. Provide a legal description or an
assessor’s parcel number for the land to which this applies
if you answer “yes” to this question.
21. Indicate whether you or your entity [and/or its
subsidiary(ies)], are able to sue or be sued in the name of
the landholdings for which you provide services. Provide a
legal description or an assessor’s parcel number for the land
to which this applies if you answer “yes” to this question.

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FORM 7-21FARMOP (2012)