As farmers and ranchers digest the new date for grazing and haying cover crops on prevent plant acres, questions are arising. Agricultural organizations are helping provide clarity. “First of all, this date adjustment is currently only for 2019. There is a bill in Congress that would make it more permanent, and it’s certainly a conversation the RMA is open to having down the road,” says Allison Rivera, director of government affairs, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association. “It also came up that corn can also be used as a cover crop, but cannot be harvested for grain; only silage or grazing. Basically, this change doesn’t change anything besides the date.” Rivera adds that the date change is about flexibility. It allows farmers and ranchers to feed their livestock, as well as keeping the ground fertile. Listen to more.
