Legislation would spare rice farmers, sportsmen burdensome regulations
U.S. Senators Mark Pryor (D-Ark.), John Boozman (R-Ark.), Thad Cochran (R-Miss.), and Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) have introduced legislation to prevent the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) from unfairly penalizing farmers and sportsmen for rolling their fields during hunting season.
Drought conditions this summer in Arkansas and Mississippi caused harvested rice farms to re-head, creating “ratoon” or second growth crops that are often uneconomical to harvest. According to the Senators, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has now decided to view these ratoon crops that have been rolled as baited fields, even though this practice was recommended by local cooperative extension services as a way to return nutrients to the soil. Inadvertent baiting of a field can level a fine of up to $15,000 or prohibit hunting on the land.
“The Fish and Wildlife Service is wrong to penalize farmers and hunters for a long-standing agricultural practice,”Pryorsaid. “Our bill will help resolve this issue and ensure hunting season — a huge driver of economic activity in Arkansas — continues undeterred.”
Delta Farm Press
12/14/12
Magnolia Tribune
