South Dakota Ag Connection - Bipartisan, Bicameral FEEDD Act to Provide Forage Flexibility for Farmers

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Bipartisan, Bicameral FEEDD Act to Provide Forage Flexibility for Farmers
South Dakota Ag Connection - 02/25/2021

Wednesday, U.S. Representatives Angie Craig (D-MN) and Dusty Johnson (R-SD) and Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and John Hoeven (R-ND) reintroduced the bipartisan Feed Emergency Enhancement During Disasters with Cover Crops Act (FEEDD Act). The FEEDD Act will provide farmers and ranchers emergency flexibility to help alleviate livestock feed shortages during planting seasons with high levels of prevent plant due to extreme moisture or drought. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) provided an administrative fix to the haying and grazing dates in 2019 and 2020 after advocacy from Craig.

Currently, under the Federal Crop Insurance Program, producers that are unable to plant a crop due to adverse weather conditions are eligible to receive a small indemnity but are prohibited from growing a cash commodity due to a missed window in the growing season. The FEEDD Act would create a clear emergency waiver authority for the USDA to allow producers to graze, hay or chop a cover crop before Nov. 1 in the event of a feed shortage due to excessive moisture, flood, or drought. With this waiver, producers would not have to take a further discount on their crop insurance. The bill also directs the Secretary to establish regional "harvest dates" for each crop year for predictable rules on prevent plant cover crop harvest annually.

"Especially in light of the COVID-19 pandemic and economic crisis, Congress has a responsibility to provide farmers and ranchers the flexibility they need to do their jobs successfully," said Craig. "The FEEDD Act will help to support ag producers in Minnesota at no cost to the taxpayer -- while incentivizing the planting of cover crops to protect the health and quality of farmers' soil and sequester carbon in Minnesota. I'm proud to help lead this bipartisan, commonsense effort and look forward to its passage in the House."

The FEEDD Act is supported by the American Farm Bureau Federation, National Farmers Union, National Cattlemen's Beef Association, National Milk Producers Federation, National Association of Conservation Districts, American Soybean Association, U.S. Durum Growers Association, American Sheep Industry Association, Edge Dairy Cooperative, Midwest Dairy Coalition, Farm Credit Council, American Bankers Association, Independent Community Bankers of America, U.S. Cattlemen's Association, National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition, Ducks Unlimited, Pheasants Forever, Quail Forever, Crop Insurance Reimbursement Bureau, the Ag Retailers Association, The Nature Conservancy, National Council of Farmer Cooperatives and FarmFirst Dairy Cooperative.

For a one-pager on the FEEDD Act go to https://bit.ly/2ZMxbfE.

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