WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Pat Roberts, R-Kan., Chairman of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, today released the following statement regarding the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s deadline extension for commodity programs created in the 2014 Farm Bill.
“It is evident USDA listened to the concerns expressed by producers at the Senate Agriculture Committee’s first hearing on the implementation of the 2014 Farm Bill,” Chairman Roberts said. “This step shows America’s farmers and ranchers that their government can work for them.
“I’m glad USDA is allowing extra time for producers facing critical decisions about new, complex Farm Bill programs. As I have said before, I will work to see that the federal government is an ally, not an adversary, to America’s hard-working farmers and ranchers.”
USDA today granted a one-week extension for producers making decisions on updating yield history and reallocating base acres as well as electing Price Loss Coverage (PLC) or Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC), new commodity programs established in the 2014 Farm Bill. The initial deadline for yield and base decisions was February 27. One month ago, USDA announced the first deadline extension to March 31. The new deadline for these decisions is April 7 and will be in effect for crop years 2014-2018.
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