Farenthold Introduces the Farmer Flexibility Act

Last week, I introduced the Farmer Flexibility Act (‘FFA’). The FFA provides relief to grain sorghum, corn, and cotton farmers who have been adversely affected by extreme weather conditions this year in the South Texas area. The FFA would extend the current crop planting deadline to May 1st, 2015. Under current law, if farmers do not plant their crops by specific deadlines set by the Risk Management Agency, they could face exorbitant penalties under their crop insurance plan.

Fields in South Texas are covered in water, causing delays in farmers planting their crop. The Farmer Flexibility Act, extends the deadline to May 1st and gives those farmers the chance they need to plant their crops, while still being protected by crop insurance. When extreme weather hinders agriculture we need to find ways to help our farmers and not punish them. The simplest way to help - just give the farmers more time.