Groups Seek Corn on CRP Land

Some 30 national and state agribusiness groups have asked the U.S. government to give farmers flexibility to plant corn without penalty on cropland idled through the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) so there will be enough grain for ethanol producers and livestock feeders. In a letter to Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns the groups said USDA should “at minimum” permit withdrawal of land from the CRP “without penalty” to return to crop production.