The 2014 farm law converted cotton subsidies to a guaranteed floor price to growers and a group revenue insurance plan called STAX. “We’re in the education process,” Vilsack said. “We will continue to work with Brazil until we come to a resolution.” Asked if the United States was ready to defend itself if Brazil asks for a WTO review of the new cotton program, Vilsack said, “We are and we will.”
Growers have until mid-2015 to show they comply with USDA’s conservation rules, Vilsack told senators. The 2014 farm law requires compliance for farmers to qualify for subsidies on crop insurance premiums. About 6,000 farmers are affected, Vilsack said. The rules require farmers to write a plan to prevent erosion on fragile land and to leave wetlands in place. So-called conservation compliance for crop insurance was a major policy battle of the farm bill.
Vilsack also said Japan is “very, very difficult” on allowing more access for U.S. farm exports; the new farm law “creates a narrow lane” of maneuver to prevent unqualified people from claiming farm subsidies; and with the farm bill scaling down the size of the land-idling Conservation Reserve, he has not decided whether to allow a general signup.
To read a WTO summary of the U.S.-Brazil cotton case, click here. To read Vilsack’s point-by-point update on the farm bill, click here.