Farmers who planted cover crops on prevented plant acres will be permitted to hay, graze or chop those fields as of September 1, earlier than the prior November 1 deadline, USDA’s Risk Management Agency (RMA) announced Thursday. The RMA action applies only to 2019 and is aimed at helping farmers who were prevented from planting because of flooding and excess rainfall this spring.
RMA also determined that silage, haylage and baleage should be treated in the same manner as haying and grazing for this year. Producers can hay, graze or cut cover crops for silage, haylage or baleage on prevented plant acres on or after September 1 and still maintain eligibility for their full 2019 prevented planting indemnity.
Some are noting that this now potentially opens up another “payment” avenue for farmers in that they can collect their prevented planting payment, earn money for their cover crops on the market, additional funds via the disaster aid package and even the yet-to-be-decided “minimal” Market Facilitation Program 2 (MFP 2). But there remains far more questions than answers on the reports of up to four payments.
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