June 26, 2008
 

USDA to decide soon on releasing idled farmland for grain planting

The USDA said it would decide in the next two weeks whether farmers will be allowed to take idled acres out of a government conservation programme early and without penalty.

That consideration is being made as recent flooding in the Midwest was seen to have damages thousands of acres of corn and soy. The land released would help recover some of the lost production.

However, even those lands may be too late for grains harvested in 2008, USDA officials said.

The USDA pays producers to refrain from farming 34.6 million acres under the conservation reserve programem, or CRP, which is designed to save soil from being over-farmed and keep environmentally sensitive land out of production.

There might still be time for farmers to plant winter wheat on CRP land if the USDA decides soon to allow it, USDA officials said.