The Senate Committee On Agriculture will hold a farm bill hearing Wednesday regarding conservation programs including the conservation reserve program or CRP.
Iowa U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley says that President Biden?s executive order, which is commonly referred to as the 30×30 plan, will take too much of America?s farmland out of production at a time when it is needed for grain production.
The 30×30 plan aims to put 30% of the country?s land and oceans into permanent conservation by the year 2030. Senator Grassley says that U.S. farmland is needed for production now at a time when Ukrainian grain production has greatly slowed due to Ukraine?s war with Russia.
Grassley says that one of the ways in which the Biden administration is attempting to shift more American farmland from production to conservation to meet the goals of the 30×30 plan is through the CRP program.
Grassley says that while CRP is a beneficial program it is making it difficult for new farmers and ranchers to work in the ag industry because it takes away farming opportunities for those wanting to rent land.
Grassley says that the federal government has become an unfair competitor in terms of paying more for land to be put into CRP than by allowing farmers to pay a fair price to rent land for farming.
He says that if highly productive American farm ground is put into conservation, competitors in foreign nations will fill that void.
Grassley says that Iowa farmers should be able to help feed the world by utilizing nutrient rich soil in the state for agriculture.
Senator Grassley made his comments Tuesday morning during his weekly conference call with ag broadcasters and reporters.
