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Boozman asks USDA for delay in Conservation Reserve Program deadlines

The Ranking Member of the Senate Ag Committee wants the USDA to delay the Conservation Reserve Program deadlines. 

Republican John Boozman from Arkansas tells Brownfield the world faces the highest food prices ever recorded and taking ag land out of production during disruptions in wheat, feed grain, and oilseed supplies concerns him. “This really is a crisis situation. We were in a crisis anyway because of the high input costs with a tremendous increase in inflation, and then the supply chain shortages.”

Boozman sent a letter to Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack asking him to delay the CRP sign-up deadline and increase the flexibility for a farmer to buy crop insurance to allow farmers time to decide between planting a crop or enrolling in CRP. “Let’s slow down the sign-ups. Let’s even look and see how we can even use these lands short-term to get increased production so that we can make it such that we can get through this very difficult time period.”

Boozman tells Brownfield Vilsack was not very receptive to his request. “When asked, he felt like that was probably not the right path to go down, so, so far, it hasn’t been very favorable but we’re going to continue and hopefully just continue the dialogue.”