Declaration of Farm Operator Information

FORM 7-21FARMOP
2024 Instructions

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, 2024

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
required to obtain or retain a benefit 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, Reclamation Law Administration
Division, Mail Code 84-55000, Bureau of Reclamation, PO Box 25007, Denver CO 80225.

GENERAL INFORMATION
“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:








“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.
“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.
“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.).

Visit www.usbr.gov/rra for more information.
WHO MUST SUBMIT THIS FORM
You must submit a “Declaration of Farm Operator
Information” (Form 7-21FARMOP) if:





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.
Note for Part Owners: If this second bullet
applies to you, you must submit your own
Form 7-21FARMOP for yourself as a part owner, in
addition to the Form 7-21FARMOP the farm
operator entity may submit for itself as an entity.
Please pay special attention to the “Note for Part
Owners” instructions boxes throughout the
remainder of these instructions, as those boxes will
contain directions specific to part owners who are
independently submitting a Form 7-21FARMOP as a
part owner of a farm operator entity that is operating
land the part owner formerly owned as excess land.

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
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.

WHAT LAND TO INCLUDE

Excess of 960 Acres and the Eligibility of Certain Formerly
Excess Land for more information.

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

GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS

 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.

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
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.

ITEM BY ITEM INSTRUCTIONS
ANNUAL DECLARATION
Farm Operator Information
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.

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

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.

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.

Note for Part Owners: List your name in
parentheses after the farm operator’s name.

IF THE LAND YOU PROVIDE SERVICES TO
CHANGES
2.

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.

(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.
Note for Part Owners: Check “Part Owner” as
the farm operator type.

FORMERLY EXCESS LAND
(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.

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.

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

(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.

2

FORM 7-21FARMOP (2024)

4.

(a) Enter the telephone number where questions can be
directed.

8.

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.

9.

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.)

(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). Do not list a social security number in this
blank.

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.
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.

Land For Which the Farm Operator Provides
Service(s)
This section is to be completed by all farm operators.
7.

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

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:

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.

(a) Name of the district in which the land parcel is
located.

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.

(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.
(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.”

(a) Enter the subsidiary’s name.
(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. Do not list a social security
number in this blank.

(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.”

(c) Provide an accurate legal description or assessor’s
parcel number for the land receiving farm operating
services from the subsidiary.

3

FORM 7-21FARMOP (2024)

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, or a part owner of 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.

Part Owners of the Farm Operator
This section is to be completed only by farm operators that are
entities.
Note for Part Owners: Do not list your name
if you are a part owner that must independtly
submit this form.

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.

14. Provide your entity’s organizational structure by
identifying all part owners of your entity. Enter the
following information about the part owners:

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.

(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. Do not list a social security number in this
blank.

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.

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

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.

Farm Operation Summary
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. Appropriate signature(s) are required for
a farm operator that is an individual, and for a part owner
of a farm operator entity that must independently submit
this form. 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 only by individual and entity
farm operators.
Note for Part Owners: Do not complete this
section
youfarm
are operator’s
a part owner
that must
17.
Enterifthe
name.
independently submit this form.

4

FORM 7-21FARMOP (2024)