Oklahoma Wheat Growers President Curtis Vap is calling on the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to implement key provisions of the 2014 Farm Bill for farmers who faced multiple years of severe drought.
“(House Committee on Agriculture) Chairman Lucas succeeded in including a key provision (of the 2014 Farm Bill) for producers,” said Vap. “The provision would allow producers to maintain adequate crop insurance to cover their expected production in exchange for paying a higher premium to cover any additional liability,” reports Southwest Farm Press.
The Farm Bill was signed into law on Feb. 7, but the USDA has delayed implementation of the provision until 2016. The provision would provide immediate relief to producers around the country who farm in counties hit by extreme natural disasters, including the recent record-breaking drought.
“This is a straight-forward, common sense provision,” said Vap. “But, instead of carrying out the law, USDA decided on day one that they were going to ignore the law and delay relief to thousands of producers across the country dealing with inadequate crop insurance coverage on account of a string of drought years not seen since the 1950s,” President Vap added. “This relief is vital and needs to be implemented immediately.”