Congress approves ghost crop designation
Oct 2, 2008 10:24 AM
Congress passed a measure this week designating uninsured sorghum and other crops planted behind failed first crops as ghost crops, meaning that the crop’s revenue will not reduce a farmer’s Supplemental Revenue Assistance Program (SURE) payment.
“This represents a huge victory for sorghum growers,” said Toby Bostwick, National Sorghum Producers chairman of the board. “It is very important that, especially in these uncertain economic times, farmers are not discouraged from planting a second crop at their own risk. Congress has done the right thing by passing a bill that exempts the value of uninsured second crops from their calculation of revenue in determining disaster payments.”
The change was a part of a Senate amendment to H.R. 6849, which suspended the so-called 10-acre rule. Under the 10-acre rule, farmers with less than 10 base acres were not eligible for direct or counter-cyclical payments.
Farmers have one year to combine these small acre operations with other acres for the purpose of program payment eligibility.
NSP represents U.S. sorghum producers. The organization works to ensure the profitability of sorghum production coast to coast through legislative representation, regulatory representation, and education.
To learn more about NSP, visit www.sorghumgrowers.com.
