The wait by livestock producers who were hoping to gain access to Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) acres for hay and livestock feed via grazing will have to wait another couple days.
Tuesday’s hearing in U.S. District Court in Seattle didn’t result in a final decision as USDA and the National Wildlife Federation remain at odds over the level of CRP acres that should be utilized via the Critical Feed Use (CFU) effort announced by USDA May 27. Another hearing as been set for Thursday morning. The wildlife groups back limiting the CFU effort to around 1.7 million acres (that’s the level of applications for the effort so far that have been approved) while USDA is said to back a 3 million acre mark to account for the effort as they note that not all the acres can be hayed or grazed. Under the CFU, CRP contract holders would be allowed to hay or graze a portion of their ground -- 50% if they chose to harvest hay and 75% if the opted to graze the land -- in exchange for paying a $75 administrative fee.
