The prospect of an elevate level of prevented planting acres this season in some areas is prompting some farm-state lawmakers to ask USDA to take the same steps they did in 2019 relative to harvesting cover crops planted on prevent plant acres. The 2019 level of prevented planting acres was much higher than usual and took place in several states.
“As you know, there were more than 19 million prevented plant acres across the United States in 2019 due to excessive rainfall and spring flooding,” Senate Majority Whip John Thune, R-S.D., Senate Agriculture Committee Ranking Member Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., and a slew of their colleagues wrote. “Due to an administrative rule, producers were not allowed to graze or harvest cover crops on these acres prior to November 1 without a reduction in their prevented plant indemnity.”
Last year, USDA “made a one-time administrative change to move up the date on which producers could graze, hay, or chop cover crops on prevented plant acres from November 1 to September 1,” a move the lawmakers said allowed “producers to retain some agricultural value of their prevented plant acres.”
The lawmakers said that at the very least, USDA needs to remove the penalties again this year provided the harvest/use activities happen outside the normal nesting season.
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