The American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) and seven other major farm groups have united in support of a bill introduced by Sens. Heidi Heitkamp and Joni Ernst that improves the Agricultural Risk Coverage (ARC) Program.
The bipartisan legislation would prioritize use of data collected from U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Risk Management Agency to calculating yields, rather than allowing farmers to use yield data from their “administrative counties” if they farm in more than one county. It also would allow state Farm Service Agency committees to adjust yield estimates when results are inexplicably different compared to neighboring counties within the same state or adjacent counties across state lines.
AFBF Congressional Relations Director Mary Kay Thatcher told Newsline the bill would change the program to better serve farmer’s needs.
Thatcher believes the three things covered in this bill would provide a good opportunity to fix the discrepancy in payments between counties.
“I think using the Risk Management Agency, the crop insurance data, is the first choice, rather than using NASS data,” Thatcher said.
The bill would also require USDA to calculate safety net payments based on a farm’s physical location.
She said it’s important to have a safety net when farmers are dealing with difficult economic times.
AFBF wrote a letter to the senators this week expressing support for the bill.
“Your final provision allows for providing FSA state committees discretion to adjust yield data estimates to help reduce inexplicable variation between neighboring counties or along boundaries with neighboring states,” the groups wrote.
Thatcher said the budget is very limited.
“We are going to have to be as efficiently as we can with money to try and get a well-rounded bill that we can pass through the House and the Senate and have the president sign,” Thatcher said.
The groups include American Soybean Association, National Association of Wheat Growers, National Corn Growers Association, National Farmers Union, National Sunflower Association, USA Dry Pea & Lentil Council and U.S. Canola Association.