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USDA expected to review programs for inflationary needs

Farmers say price spikes this year are making high-cost conservation efforts more challenging to implement.

Natural Resources Conservation Service Chief Terry Cosby tells Brownfield a review is underway to consider if more flexibility is needed for some programs this year impacted by supply chain disruptions and price spikes. 

“We want those practices on the ground and we want to make sure those contracts stay on schedule so we’ll be looking at that and probably modifying some of those high-cost practices to try to help mitigate some of that cost that the farmers might realize when they go to put them in,” he explains.

Gloria Montano Greene, USDA Farm Production and Conservation Deputy Undersecretary, tells Brownfield work is also underway to support supply chain resiliency. 

“That’s a symptom, what’s the overall illness that we’re trying to address?” she says.

They’re encouraging producers to take advantage of upcoming programs and to submit feedback during requests for information periods like the one that’s currently open on carbon markets to enhance the effectiveness of the agency. 

Brownfield interviewed the officials during Ohio Farm Bureau’s Washington Leadership Experience.