The following is a statement from National Corn Growers Association President Kevin Skunes and Kentucky Corn Growers Association President Richard Strode regarding the introduction of a bill this week by Senators Heidi Heitkamp (D – N.D.) and Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) directing the Farm Service Agency (FSA) to use crop yield data from the Risk Management Agency for yield calculations.
“NCGA applauds Senators Heitkamp and Ernst for recognizing the importance of having a strong revenue-based program for farmers and taking this step to strengthen the Agriculture Risk Coverage-County Level (ARC-CO) Safety Net Program in the next Farm Bill,” said NCGA President Kevin Skunes. “In this economy, having strong farm bill risk management programs are more important than ever.”
“This is a big issue for our farmers in Kentucky. We saw serious differences in the program from county to county and knew there was a way to address the problem. It’s good to see our concerns are being addressed at the national level. In this time of continued low prices, we need the safety net to work fairly and accurately,” said Richard Strode, KyCorn president and farmer from Daviess Co.