News

Bill would freeze CRP signups

Legislation introduced Wednesday would put a moratorium on new signups for the Conservation Reserve Program.

Congressman Tom Tiffany’s GRAIN For America Act would place a 1-year moratorium on the enrollment of farmland in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), which pays farmers to leave land uncultivated.  After the 1-year moratorium, the same legislation would prevent prime farmland from being enrolled in the CRP.

Tiffany is critical of the Biden administration’s expansion of the program in 2021, calling it a “green fantasy” attempt to achieve net-zero emissions.  Tiffany says food security is national security, and he says America can only have a prosperous future if farmers are allowed to unleash their production potential. “America has always fed the world, especially for the last number of decades here, and we think it’s really important to keep that food supply up because it is needed around the world.”

Tiffany also authored the FARM Act, which would end government subsidies to wind and solar projects on productive farmland. He tells Brownfield the GRAIN For America act goes hand-in-hand with that effort. “Along the same lines with CRP, we are saying that prime agricultural land should not be taken out of production.”

If passed into law, the legislation would not impact farmland that is already part of the CRP, and farmers who already have land in the program can re-enroll during the moratorium.