Conservation Compliance Changes in the 2014 Farm Bill

Jul 23, 2014

By Jean-Paul McDonald, Farms.com

American farmers and ranchers are reminded that changes made to the 2014 Farm Bill require them to have a Highly Erodible Land Conservation and Wetland Conservation Certification on record. The farm law ties the highly erodible land conservation and wetland conservation compliance with producers’ eligibility for the federal crop insurance program. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack made the announcement today.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture urges farmers to take the right steps to complete the forms and file at their local Farm Service Agency office. Failure to do so will result in them no longer being eligible for crop insurance support. According to the USDA, most Natural Resource Conservation programs already have this item listed as a requirement, but if producers have not filed yet, they must do so no later than June 1, 2015.

When farmers file their forms, government staff will advise them of any additional actions that they must take in order to comply with the rules. The USDA clarifies that since 1985, eligibility for most commodity, disaster and conservation programs are connected with the Erodible Land Conservation and Wetland Conservation program requirements. The 2014 rules continue the requirement, but it also includes the new price and revenue production programs, in addition to the Environmental Quality Incentives Program and the Conservation Stewardship Program.

The USDA says it will publish a rule later this year that will outline the details about the connection of the conservation compliance with the crop insurance premium support. The revised form can be obtained at USDA Service locations or online at www.fsa.usda.gov.

Video: New colours and more durability for Case IH RB6 round balers

Farmers will see a new look and more efficiency and durability from Case IH's RB6 Series variable chamber round balers for model year 2026. In this report from the Farm Progress Show in Decatur, Illinois, Case livestock product specialist Brian Williams notes that the first thing farmers will notice is a new colour scheme. "For the tailgate, the frame, and also the pickup, we've changed to our Case IH red colour. One of the really nice things about changing that colour scheme is that you're able to see that crop flowing into the baler much better from the tractor." There's also changes to the pickup with the addition of a second roller. "On the 566 model, you can get it with the double windrower roller," says Williams. "For our customers that are baling corn stalks or large windrows, it helps to push that windrow down to let that feed into the chamber, so that they're able to bale a little bit faster, because everyone's looking for better efficiency." There are also modifications to the rollers in the bale chamber — the stripper roll and the fixed roll have been combined into a one-piece roller. "There's no welds on those rollers, so the dependability is going to be far greater than our previous model," adds Williams.