Washington, D.C. — The House Agriculture Committee voted today to approve a bill by U.S. Rep. Bob Etheridge (D-Lillington) that would change a provision in the 2008 Farm Bill that could unintentionally suspend farm payments for thousands of farmers, putting them at risk of losing their farms.
Etheridge is the Chair of the Subcommittee on General Farm Commodities and Risk Management of the House Agriculture Committee.
The “10-base-acre provision” in the Farm Bill was intended to prevent farmers who own less than 10 base acres from receiving direct, counter-cyclical, or Average Crop Revenue Election (ACRE) program payments. However, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s interpretation of the law would prevent farmers who hold leases for several small farms that add up to more than 10 acres from receiving payments as well. Approximately 30,500 farms in North Carolina would be affected, according to the North Carolina Farm Bureau.
“Without this legislation, the USDA’s narrow interpretation of the 10-base-acre-provision could cause thousands of farmers who rent or lease smaller tracks of land for their farms to go out of business,” said Etheridge. “I urge the House to move swiftly to pass this legislation in order to prevent real damage from occurring in our rural economies.”
Congress intended for the “10-base-acre provision” section to allow for producers with multiple small farms that each have less than 10 acres, but that have a combined base acreage of more than 10, to be able to aggregate their farms to be able to continue receiving payments. Following passage of the legislation, however, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) determined that the language in this section does not permit aggregation of base acres for producers with 10 base acres or less.
Etheridge’s legislation, H.R. 6849, will clarify the intent of Congress for this section of the Commodity Title. The legislation directs the USDA to allow aggregation of base acres and will allow producers to combine multiple farms into one farm through the reconstitution process.