House Committee on Agriculture chairman Frank Lucas (R-Okla.) and senior committee member Randy Neugebauer (R-Texas) commended the U.S. Department of Agriculture on Tuesday for expediting provisions to help farmers impacted by recent drought.
The provisions were put into place despite a previous announcement that the department did not have the time or money to do so.
Actual Production History (APH) adjustments are now available for 2015 spring-planted crops, including corn, soybeans, spring wheat, grain sorghum, rice and barley. The crop insurance provision in the Agricultural Act of 2014 allows yield adjustments when losses are widespread and beyond the control of producers.
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack previously had insisted the earliest date of implementation would be 2016.
“The APH adjustment means everything to farmers all across the country who have suffered through year after year of devastating drought conditions,” Lucas, who was one of the strongest proponents of the changes, said. “It is the difference between having viable crop insurance for the coming year or not. It is for these reasons that I worked to include the APH adjustment in the farm bill and why I am pleased (Vilsack) redoubled his efforts to get it done this year. I remain hopeful that (the) USDA will also work to make the same relief available to winter wheat producers.”
Neugebauer, who questioned Vilsack on the APH implementation process at a committee hearing and encouraged him to move forward quickly, said farmers deserve immediate relief after years of drought.
“While I have been deeply frustrated with the delayed implementation of the APH adjustment, I welcome today’s news and applaud Secretary Vilsack for providing this much-needed relief for our producers,” Neugebauer said. “I look forward to working with Secretary Vilsack and my colleagues on the House Agriculture Committee to see that the farm bill implementation process moves forward and meets the true needs of America’s farmers.”