Provide input on CRP
Washington Ag Today September 4, 2009 Washington is just one of nine states where the USDA is holding a public meeting to get input on the Conservation Reserve Program. Rod Hamilton of the Washington State Office of the Farm Service Agency says there were changes in CRP from the 2008 Farm Bill that potentially have an environmental impact so USDA is doing an environmental impact statement. The meetings are to get public comment on the findings. Hamilton says some of the changes are of interest here, some are not. Hamilton: “For example there is a provision in the farm bill having to do with “routine grazing.” I don‘t know how well it is defined in the law as opposed to “managed haying and grazing“ that we had under the prior legislation. So that is one of the issues our folks would be concerned about. There is also a change for the years of cropping history that we would be looking at, moving up to a more current set of years under the new farm bill. Another provision would allow for some accommodation if folks were trying to transition the land near the end of the contract into the hands of a beginning farmer.” 38 The Washington meeting will be in Spokane, September 15th from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Hilton Garden Inn Spokane Airport. It is not part of these USDA meetings on CRP, but the biggest change to the program in the new farm bill was that the acreage enrollment cap had to be reduced from 36 million acres to 32 million by this October 1st. I’m Bob Hoff and that’s Washington Ag Today on the Northwest Ag Information Network. ? ?
