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More CRP acres possible in 2018 farm bill
The ranking member of the House Agriculture Committee says there might be more Conservation Reserve Program acres in the next farm bill. Not many changes are in the 2018 farm bill, according to Collin Peterson (D-Minn.)
“And the main reason is we don’t have any money,” Peterson told Missouri Farm Bureau members Sunday. “There’s not whole lot you can do, when you don’t have any money.”
A notable change from the current farm bill, however, “if I have anything to say about it,” he said, there will be an upward adjustment to the current CRP acreage limit of 24 million acres.
“We think that we’ll be able to make changes within the program that’ll get us enough money to go back to 32 million acres,” said Peterson.
The way that will be done, according to Peterson, is to cap CRP rental rates at 80 percent of the rental rate in the given country.
Peterson was part of a farm bill panel discussion at the Missouri Farm Bureau convention at the Lake of the Ozarks.
AUDIO: Farm bill panel at Missouri Farm Bureau Convention (One hour, twenty minutes MP3)
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80 percent of cash rent rates would be a good thing. This would give enough incentive to landowners like me to enroll marginal land in CRP and have the land that should be farmed not in CRP. Too much land not designed for CRP has been enrolled and for rates way above current cash rent rates. Land now expiring, which is land that should be in the program will be returned to row crop if the cap is not raised from 24 million and the land that should be farmed is in the program….totally the opposite of what the program intended….
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The 80% limit would be ok as long as it is published well in advance of expration of existing contracts. its main drawback is that it would tend take a substantial amount of marginal land that is currently in the program This seems to be in contrast to the object of the program to take such land out of production.
The reverse auction approach would be a disaster. Farmers have enough uncertainly in making their production plans without adding this additional level. No one rents any property (farm or otherwise) without knowing the rental rate in advance. I the president of small farming with marginal land in the CRP.
If these suggestions of 80% of crop rental are going to be the per acre for CRP acres there is no incentive to resign my CRP into another 10-15 years.. over that time I would lose almost 6,000$ over 10 years. My personal farming situation does not allow that loss.. But that is using a set crop land rent.. so if it goes up I stand to lose even more. I am a landlord but I still have to be aware of every dollar that is spent.. Property taxes will continue to rise and is a factor.. Farming will be hard enough the next couple years and anyone who has CRP that is expiring I would guess cannot financially continue with the program.. unfortunate.. for the environment and the farmers..