The most recent Farm Bill provided funding for the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) Transition Option - a new initiative to help beginning and minority farmers access the 4.2 million acres of farmland that is about to come out of the CRP, by offering incentives to farmers to sell or lease to them. Current is reporting that USDA plans to delay the new program at least two years. The National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition offers a petition to urge immediate implementation of this new program.

At a time when so many people in this country are out of work, making it easier for beginning and minority growers to start farming seems a no-brainer. This is the kind of stimulus I can believe in.