HURON — An Agriculture Department decision to move up the harvest date for cover crops on prevent plant acres by two months is “incredibly good news” for producers and proof that the government can move quickly when there’s a real emergency in farm country, Rep. Dusty Johnson, R-S.D., said Thursday.
“This is going to provide the forage that we need to get through the next difficult few months,” an elated Johnson said in an afternoon conference call with reporters.
He and Democratic congresswoman Angie Craig of Minnesota had introduced a bill last week that would have created an emergency waiver authority for USDA to allow producers to graze, hay or chop a cover crop before Nov. 1 in the event of a feed shortage due to excessive moisture, flood or drought.
The legislation gained the support of 28 bipartisan sponsors and more than 17 national agriculture groups.
Johnson, in answer to a question, said he would be speaking with Craig on the House floor later in the day on whether they should move forward in trying to make the date change permanent.
But he said it would be much harder to get committee hearing time on such a proposal, and it would be less likely for a bill to come to the floor in the near future.
“Our goal was not to pass a bill, our goal was to provide relief to livestock producers and we got that today,” Johnson said.

Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, also applauded the administration’s action.
“You don’t have to talk to more than two producers in South Dakota to realize that waiting until Nov. 1 to allow them to either graze or mechanically harvest cover crops without an indemnity reduction on their prevent plant acres is far too late,” he said in a news release, “particularly with South Dakota’s uncertain fall and winter weather.
“It’s arbitrary, and it sets an inequitable standard that puts some states at a greater advantage than others based simply on their geographical location,” he said.
Gov. Kristi Noem, too, praised the USDA announcement.
“We can’t control the weather, but we can control our policy,” she said in a news release.
Meanwhile, Johnson said a subcommittee hearing on broad-based eligibility for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits became heated. He is ranking member of the House Agriculture Nutrition, Oversight & Department Operations Subcommittee.
According to one estimate, $7 billion is being distributed to people who may not qualify for the benefits under the eligibility standards, he said.
He said he has grown frustrated with Democrats who appear disinterested in chasing waste, fraud and abuse in what was formerly known as the food stamp program, but instead raise concerns about problems within other government benefits.
Johnson said his response at the hearing was that he is willing to work with them on reducing abuse in all programs.
But he said there are higher rates of abuse in social programs like SNAP. Every dollar going to someone not eligible for it means it’s not going to someone who is, he said. Republicans don’t want to take money out of SNAP, but want to target the money better so struggling families get the help they need, he said.
“We need a welfare system that works in this country. We owe it to our families to have a safety net,” he said. “But we also owe it to the taxpayers.”
While the spotlight is often on states like Vermont and Minnesota who are not administering the program correctly, it should also be on states like South Dakota which is doing a good job, Johnson said.