U.S. Rep. Tim Walz of Minnesota has introduced a “Sodsaver” bill that would reduce the federal subsidy for crop insurance on land converted from native grasslands to row crops. The bill is intended as a place-holder that could eventually be incorporated into a new federal Farm Bill.
The bill, which has South Dakota Republican Congresswoman Kristi Noem as a second lead sponsor, is similar to a provision that was part of the Farm Bill that the Senate passed last year. It was not part of the Farm Bill that the House agriculture committee passed.
U.S. Rep. Collin Peterson of Minnesota, the lead Democrat on the House ag committee, is a co-sponsor of the Sodsaver provision this year.
Read a Pioneer Press article about the bill. Read a Walz news release about it. Read the bill.