40Grants for break crops.
(1)The Minister may, in accordance with a scheme made with the approval of the Treasury, make payments in respect of break crops of such descriptions as may be specified in the scheme which are grown for harvesting in any period of twelve months so specified or for feeding to stock in any such period.
(2)A scheme under this section may be made by the Minister for England and Wales, for Scotland, for Northern Ireland or for any two or all of those parts of the United Kingdom jointly; and in relation to a scheme made jointly for Scotland and any other part or parts of the United Kingdom, references to the Minister in this section, except subsection (1) and subsection (3)(d), shall be construed as references to the Ministers.
(3)Any scheme under this section may—
(a)specify the rate of payments under the scheme for crops of any description and provide for different rates for crops of different descriptions and for crops of the same description in different circumstances ;
(b)provide for the making of payments under the scheme in respect of a single period of twelve months, or of consecutive periods of twelve months not exceeding five such periods;
(c)specify the minimum acreage or weight of crop in respect of which payments may be made to any person and provide for the manner in which acreages and weights are to be determined for the purposes of the scheme;
(d)make provision as to the persons to whom the payments may be made and for securing that no payment is made unless it is applied for at such time and in such manner as the Minister may direct;
(e)provide for the payments to be withheld, or for their amounts to be reduced to any extent determined by or under the scheme, in such circumstances as may be so determined; and
(f)contain provisions generally for securing that the payments are properly made, and such incidental and supplemental provisions as the Minister considers expedient for the purposes of the scheme.
(4)Any person who knowingly or recklessly makes a false statement for the purpose of obtaining for himself or any other person a payment in pursuance of a scheme under this section, shall be liable as mentioned in section 39(3) of this Act.
(5)In this section " break crops " means field beans and any other crops of a kind which, in the opinion of the Minister, it is appropriate to grow with a view to changing temporarily, for the benefit of future crops, the crops on land usually used for growing wheat or barley, but does not include wheat, barley, oats, rye, potatoes and sugar beet.