VIDEO: Johnson Continues Campaign to Move November 1st Harvest Date
WASHINGTON – Today Representative Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.) spoke on the House Floor to emphasize the need to move up the November 1st prevent plant date through an administrative fix, if not through legislation. Last week, Johnson introduced the bipartisan Feed Emergency Enhancement During Disasters (FEEDD) Act, which would create an emergency waiver authority for the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to allow producers to graze, hay or chop a cover crop before November 1st in the event of a feed shortage due to excessive moisture, flood or drought.
Full text of the speech below:
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
"It is wet in farm country.
"In fact, corn planting is so far behind that many South Dakota producers aren't quite sure how they are going to feed the 5 million cattle that are in our state.
"Now these producers don't want a new government program.
"Our producers cannot feed their cattle dollar bills. What they want, what they need, is the flexibility to help themselves.
"That's why Congresswoman Angie Craig and I introduced the FEEDD Act.
"It would provide USDA the flexibility needed so that producers can go in and hay, graze, or chop cover crops that are on prevent plant acres and do that before November 1st.
"Moving that date from November 1st to September 1st could make a real impact.
"The forage we need will come from those acres. It will come from that flexibility.
"Already this bill has received 27 cosponsors and been endorsed by 17 national ag groups.
"I look forward to working with them, to working with the Agriculture Committee, to working with House leadership to move this concept forward.
"We also have another option. USDA could do this administratively and we continue to discuss with them the opportunity to get this success in that way.
"Thank you for the time, Mr. Speaker, I yield back."
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