USDA publishes conservation compliance, sodbuster rule
The Agriculture Department published an interim rule on Monday to require farmers to practice conservation in order to qualify for federally subsidized crop insurance coverage. The so-called conservation compliance requirement was one of the hardest-fought items in the 2014 farm law. The interim rule, open for public comment for 60 days, also reduces insurance coverage and the premium subsidy for four years when native sod in the upper Midwest is converted to cropland.
In a news release, USDA said the provisions, which reflect the 2014 farm law, “provide better options for beginning farmers, allow producers to have enterprise units for irrigated and non-irrigated crops, give farmers and ranchers the ability to purchase different levels of coverage for a variety of irrigation practices, provide guidance on conservation compliance, implement protections for native sod and provide adjustments to historical yields following significant disasters.”