Feed&Grain.com |

A USDA plan to bar producers from aggregating acreage on their farms in order to receive farm payments under the 2008 Farm Bill has drawn a stern reaction from Members of Congress in both chambers and grower groups like NAWG.

Though the bill eliminated payments for producers with 10 or fewer acres, Members made clear in the manager’s report accompanying the legislation that combined acreage would meet the test. Producers from around the country are now reporting back to farm groups that local Farm Service Agency (FSA) offices will not allow acre aggregation.

Last week, more than 50 Members in the House of Representatives wrote Secretary of Agriculture Ed Schafer arguing that USDA’s interpretation goes against clear Congressional intent. This week, 25 Senators echoed that message in their own letter to Schafer.

“The policy set forth in [a notice about program participation] disregards the statutory language which applies the limitation to the ‘sum of the base acres of the farm,’” the Senators said. “This intent is clearly stated in the statement of Managers…”

USDA analysis shows that its interpretation of the rule would affect 255,000 farms and $24 million in direct payments.

The disagreement over the 10-acre rule is only one problem that has popped up as USDA begins to implement the 2008 Farm Bill.

For instance, FSA is required to implement the new SURE program in the 2008 crop year and the new ACRE program for the 2009 crop year, though the agency does not have the IT infrastructure to do so nor funds to upgrade its systems.

USDA also doesn’t have expedited rulemaking authority, without which it is required to go through the full regulatory process, which could take many months.

NAWG continues to work with state associations and other agricultural groups as well as Members of Congress to find the best way to address these problems with very little time left in the Congressional session before Members leave for the November elections.