Posted July 29, 2014
Last week,
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) informed producers of their obligation to
comply with conservation regulations in order to purchase crop insurance and
some vegetable producers have concerns, according to a Delta Farm Press article
available here.
The
Florida Fruit and Vegetable Association (FFVA) expressed their concerns to
Congress and the USDA during consideration, because it will affect some
producers more than others, depending on type of farm.
Agriculture
Secretary Tom Vilsack stated that all producers must file new paperwork
with their local Farm Service Agency office.
“It’s
important that farmers and ranchers taking the right steps to conserve valuable
farm and natural resources have completed AD-1026 forms on file at their local
Farm Service Agency office,” he said. “This will ensure they remain eligible
for crop insurance support.”
Permanent crops are commodities produced without “annual
tilling of the soil,” and are mostly exempted from this requirement, but the
paperwork must still be filed in order to be eligible for the federal subsidy
under crop insurance programs.
For crops
that are “annually tilled,” an obligation may be required to have a certified
conservation plan in place along with other restrictions, which depends on if
the land is highly erodible or a wetland as defined by the USDA.
USDA is
conduction a listening session on August 7 in Gainesville, Florida to receive
comments from the industry.
For more information on crop insurance programs, please
visit the National Agricultural Law Center’s website here.
