William Gillon spoke to a meeting of about 35 farmers at Holly Springs, Mississippi, on February 3. The farmers in attendance rent cropland from the federal government and are concerned that the decision of the U.S. Department of Agriculture to eliminate crop acreage bases on this land would have a damaging impact on their farm operations.
Farmers from the Holly Springs area were joined by producers from Grenada and Calhoun counties, Yazoo City, Mississippi, and Arkansas to discuss ways they could work to get the Department of Agriculture to reverse its decision. Gillon spoke at the invitation of the meeting organizers and informed the gathering that the USDA action was taken in late December as the previous Administration was leaving office and seemed to be taken without regard to the impact it would have on farmers across the United States.
Attendees included local municipal officials who reported that 50-75 percent of rental payments on federal land in their counties were returned to the local government as a payment in lieu of taxes. They expressed concern that if producers farming this land were to be stripped of income protection under the 2008 farm bill, their municipalities would lose a source of income that was important to the operation of local government.
Attendees included representatives of Representative Childers' local office, Mississippi Farm Bureau, and Ducks Unlimited, all of whom expressed similar concerns with the USDA rule and suggested they would be working to get the USDA decision reversed. Meeting organizers reported that local members of the U.S. House of Representatives as well as Senators from Mississippi and Arkansas had been informed of the issue.
"The Department of Agriculture is still in transition," reported Gillon. "There are not a lot of political appointees in place, so a very few people are being asked to do too much at USDA. It will take a little time for the Department to determine whether it is inclined to reverse this rule. Meanwhile, everyone who is affected by this USDA action should be persistent in their contacts and followups with their Congressional representatives and with the Department of Agriculture. They need to know what you think and how sensitive you are with respect to this issue. They may not be aware that federal crop land comprises 30 or more percent of many of your farming operations; they may not be aware that as we head into spring you need to obtain production financing and that this USDA action may make it impossible for you to get an operating loan for 2009.".
A set of arguments against the USDA decision is located here.