Wisconsin Ag Connection - Feingold & Kohl Call on USDA to Clear Up 10-Acre Rule

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Feingold & Kohl Call on USDA to Clear Up 10-Acre Rule
Wisconsin Ag Connection - 09/25/2008

U.S. Senators Russ Feingold and Herb Kohl say the USDA is misinterpreting a rule which could effect any farmer who owns or rents a parcel smaller than ten acres, and is asking the agency to clear the matter up. According to the Wisconsin Democrats, the ag department is using a provision in the Farm Bill, which passed earlier this year, aimed at preventing 'hobby farms' or housing developments on former farmland from collecting payments.

The provision states that farms with less than ten 'base acres' in size are not eligible for support payments and despite the intent of Congress, the USDA is refusing to allow farmers to combine the size of separate parcels of land they produce on.

Feingold says that since USDA is unwilling to change its interpretation of the rule, He has joined a bipartisan legislative effort, led by Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley, to delay the implementation of the provision until a new administration has a chance to interpret the law properly.

"The USDA is relying on language that wasn't even part of the final Farm Bill to deny small farms this important safety net," Feingold said. "Congress' intent was clear--farmers who have more than ten acres of land, regardless of whether or not it is connected, should be entitled to these payments. This bipartisan effort is aimed at stopping the USDA from cheating small farmers out of critical assistance."

In a letter to USDA Secretary Ed Schafer, Feingold and Kohl joined Grassley and 22 other senators in explaining how USDA is clearly misinterpreting Congress' intent behind the provision. The U.S. House of Representatives has already passed legislation to temporarily suspend a provision.

There are more than 37,000 parcels of farmland with ten or less base acres in Wisconsin that could be impacted by the USDA's misinterpretation.

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