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Iowa producers may get cover crops extension
Iowa’s above-average precipitation this spring may mean that Iowa cattle producers can get some additional grazing from the cover crops they planted last fall.
Justine Stevenson with the Iowa Cattlemen’s Association says the rules set by the Risk Management Agency (RMA), the arm of USDA that oversees crop insurance rules, call for May 10th to be the last date for haying and grazing of cover crops.
“But due to the excessive amount of moisture we’ve received this spring, and also the cooler temperatures, the RMA has extended that deadline to the 22nd of May—provided the farmer’s insurance provider is okay with that extension,” says Stevenson.
But Stevenson emphasizes that producers should contact their crop insurance provider to clarify which rules apply to them, and to obtain written permission to hay or graze the field until May 22nd.
The number of acres planted to cover crops in Iowa increased from five-thousand in 2009 to nearly 100-thousand in 2012.
AUDIO: Justine Stevenson (2:58 MP3)
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