At the National Association of Farm Broadcasters convention in Kansas City, Farm Director KC Sheperd visited with National Sorghum Producers board of directors Chairman Craig Meeker, about the Climate-Smart Ag Grant received by NSP and what they would like to see in the 2023 Farm Bill.
“National Sorghum Producers is excited to talk about the climate-smart ag grant that we got from USDA,” Meeker said. “It is 65 million dollars, and it is going to cover five states- Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas.”
The Climate-Smart Ag Grant, Meeker said, will return dollars back to the farm gate. He added that many of those dollars that will return to the farm gate are new dollars that will be returned to farmers and producers who can choose between different practices- many of which they may already be practicing in their operations.
“It is going to help us define and find new markets that will pay a premium for the sorghum grain that they raise on their farm because of the practices that they already utilize to raise their crop,” Meeker said.
Meeker said National Sorghum Producers understand how important 2022 disaster assistance will be for many producers because of the drought.
“We are looking forward to having that process move forward for 2022 disaster assistance,” Meeker said.
Regarding the 2023 Farm Bill, Meeker said the NSP would like to see a robust safety net.
“We would love to see some new baseline dollars and get reference prices up to where they are with the cost of production, and just, again, reiterate how much we want to make sure that our farmers have a robust safety net,” Meeker said.
