Oklahoma wheat growers are calling on the U.S. Department of Agriculture to implement a Farm Bill provision they say would address the ongoing drought that's plagued the state and others for the past several years.
The new provision allows farmers to maintain enough crop insurance to cover expected production in exchange for paying a higher premium to cover any additional liability. The provision will change how farmers make the estimate of their expected production.
Although the fix went into effect Feb. 7 when the Farm Bill was signed into law, wheat growers say the federal agency is dragging its feet on the provision because of politics, not because it's too difficult to enact. The USDA indicated the new provision will go into effect in 2016.
With this year's wheat crop already harvested, farmers are already planting their 2015 crop.
The USDA did not immediately return a message seeking comment.
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