Farmers allowed to pull land out of federal conserved contracts amid global food crisis -USDA

FILE PHOTO: Wheat grains are seen at the Farmers Cooperative Exchange during harvesting in Bessie

CHICAGO (Reuters) - The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will allow farmers who are part of the federal conservation land contracts to voluntarily terminate their contracts and plant on that land, in order to help mitigate the global food crisis, the agency said on Thursday.

The offer is open to farmers who are in the final year of their contract with the agency's Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), USDA said on a statement published on their website.

"Participants approved for this one-time, voluntary termination will not have to repay rental payments, a flexibility implemented this year to help mitigate the global food supply challenges caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine and other factors," according to the agency's statement.

(Reporting By P.J. Huffstutter in Chicago.)

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