NSAC: Drop conservation compliance provision
July 13, 2015 |11:35 AM
The National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition said late Friday that the Agriculture Department’s announcement that most farmers have fulfilled their conservation compliance requirement means Congress should drop the provision in the House version of the fiscal year 2016 Agriculture appropriations bill that gives farmers another year to comply.
Farmers must comply in order to participate in farm programs and get subsidized crop insurance.
The House Appropriations Committee approved the bill last week but it has not yet seen floor action.
USDA’s Risk Management Agency, the Farm Service Agency and the Natural Resources Conservation Service “have done a great job in reaching out to those farmers dealing with conservation compliance for the first time and, as a result, there are a miniscule number of farmers with any issues at this point in the process,” Ferd Hoefner, the NSAC policy director, said in a news release.
“The agencies have an excellent plan in place to deal with the few who may have remaining issues, and are leaning over backwards to work through cases in which there were extenuating circumstances that may have caused a farmer to miss the deadline.”
“It is clear from the information released by the department today that there is absolutely no need for the policy rider in the appropriations bill reported out of the House Appropriations Committee earlier this week delaying implementation of the 2014 farm bill conservation compliance provision for a year,” Hoefner added.
“There is no issue or problem that such a delay would be solving. We urge Senate appropriators to reject the rider and urge the House to strip it from the bill when and if the bill reaches the floor,” he said.
Farmers must comply in order to participate in farm programs and get subsidized crop insurance.
The House Appropriations Committee approved the bill last week but it has not yet seen floor action.
USDA’s Risk Management Agency, the Farm Service Agency and the Natural Resources Conservation Service “have done a great job in reaching out to those farmers dealing with conservation compliance for the first time and, as a result, there are a miniscule number of farmers with any issues at this point in the process,” Ferd Hoefner, the NSAC policy director, said in a news release.
“The agencies have an excellent plan in place to deal with the few who may have remaining issues, and are leaning over backwards to work through cases in which there were extenuating circumstances that may have caused a farmer to miss the deadline.”
“It is clear from the information released by the department today that there is absolutely no need for the policy rider in the appropriations bill reported out of the House Appropriations Committee earlier this week delaying implementation of the 2014 farm bill conservation compliance provision for a year,” Hoefner added.
“There is no issue or problem that such a delay would be solving. We urge Senate appropriators to reject the rider and urge the House to strip it from the bill when and if the bill reaches the floor,” he said.
