Madison Cooperative Supports New FEEDD Act
Tuesday, June 11th, 2019 -- 7:44 AM
(Wisconsin Ag Connection) -The Madison-based FarmFirst Dairy Cooperative is expressing its support for the newly-introduced Feed Emergency Enhancement During Disasters Act, or FEEDD Act, co-sponsored by Reps. Angie Craig of Minnesota and Dusty Johnson from South Dakota.The measure gives farmers additional emergency flexibility to help alleviate feed concerns, as well as promote conservation in years of excessive moisture, flooding and drought. Under the Federal Crop Insurance Program, producers that are unable to plant a crop due to adverse conditions are eligible to receive a small indemnity, but are prohibited from growing a cash commodity due to a missed window in the growing season. They can plant the ground to cover but there is a prohibition on haying and grazing before November 1. Producers can elect to hay or graze the cover but must take another discount on their indemnity, although the forage value is far less than a commodity crop.
The FEEDD Act would create an emergency waiver authority for the Secretary of Agriculture to allow for haying, grazing or chopping of a cover crop before November 1 in the event of a feed shortage due to excessive moisture, flood or drought without producers taking a further discount on their crop insurance. Additionally, the bill provides emergency forage for personal use or donation for family farmers and ranchers when devastating weather hits, and enhance the overall farm safety net for diversified crop and livestock producers.
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