AFBF, NCC critical of USDA's efforts to implement 2008 farm bill.

American Farm Bureau Federation President Bob Stallman says his organization is still waiting for USDA to implement the 2008 farm bill.

Testifying recently before the House Agriculture Subcommittee on General Farm Commodities and Risk Management, Stallman outlined major components of the farm bill that need quick action, including disaster assistance, payment eligibility and the collaboration between the Internal Revenue Service and USDA.

"Many farmers faced major disasters in 2008," said Stallman in a statement. "Disaster assistance rules need to be released so that farmers who have had their operations devastated can receive help."

According to AFBF, a year after the passage of the farm bill, there are no rules for the disaster program, let alone a target date for when producers will receive assistance under these programs. The organization is urging USDA to implement the program as quickly as possible.

Further, Stallman said AFBF had concerns with changes to the definition of "actively engaged" for purposes of determining farm program eligibility, saying it will hurt farmers and create uncertainty across the countryside.

According to AFBF, under the old rules, producers had to meet a two-pronged test: they had to show that they contributed capital, land and/or equipment, and they contributed labor and/or management to the operation. The new rule takes the labor and management requirement to an entirely new level by further mandating that this management be "separate and distinct" and "identifiable and documentable," but provides no clarification as to what this means, according to AFBF.

Separately, the National Cotton Council testified that critical parts of the regulations implementing payment limitations and gross income eligibility limits are inconsistent with the 2008 farm bill or are unclear.

NCC Chairman Jay Hardwick testified that the 2008 farm bill's changes on payment limitations and eligibility provisions were the most significant and far-reaching in more than 20 years. He said producers face an enormous challenge trying to understand those changes and also are dealing with additional uncertainty caused by regulations that "over-reached and guidelines and forms that seem to change monthly."

Hardwick testified that regulatory changes made by USDA to rules involving the determination of whether a program participant is actively engaged in farming are not consistent with the farm law. Specifically, he said, the new rules impose requirements on individual shareholders that are inconsistent with the statutory requirement that corporate farming activities be judged on a collective basis.

Hardwick testified that requirements that individual contributions by shareholders must be regular, identifiable, documentable, separate and distinct introduce vague and unhelpful standards that are subject to different interpretations and are contrary to a common-sense approach to farm management and decision-making.