Rice growers send letter on farm bill issues
October 29, 2013 | 06:14 PM
Leaders of eight rice growers’ groups sent a joint letter to all House and Senate farm bill conferees on Monday urging them to support the price loss coverage policies in the House version of the farm bill, the supplemental coverage option (SCO) in the crop insurance title and the market access and foreign market development programs.
John Owen, chairman of the USA Rice Producers’ Group and a rice farmer from Louisiana, said the growers “wanted the conferees to remember that traditional crop insurance programs tend to be less effective for rice farmers because of the premium cost of the policies relative to the coverage offered. That’s why we support the SCO structure.”
“We strongly support the Title I (commodity title) in the House bill that provides for a choice between either a price loss coverage (PLC) or revenue loss coverage (RLC) policy, and that includes the adjustments to reflect different rice types,” the grower leaders wrote. “We also support providing a yield update option for the PLC program and applying both the PLC and RLC on planted acres not to exceed total crop base acres on the farm, to better align with current production.”
“We specifically support the provisions in the House bill that allow SCO coverage to be coupled with PLC and that allow for the additional development of risk management policies that are tailored to the risks of rice producers,” the growers said.
The groups also voiced concerns with proposed income eligibility requirements and payment limits, and oppose the change in the definition of “actively engaged” in farming.
In addition to the USA Rice Federation, the signatories on the letter were the USA Rice Producers’ Group, Arkansas Rice Farmers, California Rice Producers’ Group, Louisiana Rice Producers’ Group, Mississippi Rice Council, Missouri Rice Producers’ Group, and the Texas Rice Producers Legislative Group.
John Owen, chairman of the USA Rice Producers’ Group and a rice farmer from Louisiana, said the growers “wanted the conferees to remember that traditional crop insurance programs tend to be less effective for rice farmers because of the premium cost of the policies relative to the coverage offered. That’s why we support the SCO structure.”
“We strongly support the Title I (commodity title) in the House bill that provides for a choice between either a price loss coverage (PLC) or revenue loss coverage (RLC) policy, and that includes the adjustments to reflect different rice types,” the grower leaders wrote. “We also support providing a yield update option for the PLC program and applying both the PLC and RLC on planted acres not to exceed total crop base acres on the farm, to better align with current production.”
“We specifically support the provisions in the House bill that allow SCO coverage to be coupled with PLC and that allow for the additional development of risk management policies that are tailored to the risks of rice producers,” the growers said.
The groups also voiced concerns with proposed income eligibility requirements and payment limits, and oppose the change in the definition of “actively engaged” in farming.
In addition to the USA Rice Federation, the signatories on the letter were the USA Rice Producers’ Group, Arkansas Rice Farmers, California Rice Producers’ Group, Louisiana Rice Producers’ Group, Mississippi Rice Council, Missouri Rice Producers’ Group, and the Texas Rice Producers Legislative Group.
