Wayne Byers Show – Evening – Aug 25

CSi Weather…

 

.SUNDAY…Sunny. Highs in the upper 70s. North winds 5 to 10 mph.

.SUNDAY NIGHT…Mostly clear. Lows in the mid 50s. West winds

5 to 10 mph.

.MONDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY…Mostly clear. Highs in the lower 80s.

Lows in the mid 50s.

.WEDNESDAY NIGHT AND THURSDAY…Partly cloudy. A 20 percent

chance of rain showers. Lows in the upper 50s. Highs around 80.

.THURSDAY NIGHT AND FRIDAY…Partly cloudy. Lows in the upper

50s. Highs around 80.

 

 

Jamestown  (CSi)   – Senator John Hoeven, chairman of the Agriculture Appropriations Committee and member of the Agriculture Committee, in Jamestown Friday, held a roundtable with producers, commodity groups and state officials  to outline his work to provide resources and support to help the state’s farmers and ranchers impacted by severe drought.

 

At the North Dakota Farmers Union Headquarter in Jamestown, Hoeven said, “Our farmers and ranchers are facing real challenges due to the drought this year. We’re working to provide them with all the tools and assistance available to ensure that they can weather the drought and continue their operations.”

 

Hoeven outlined drought resources he’s worked to secure, including:

Major Disaster Declaration

Hoeven pressed for approval of North Dakota’s request for a presidential disaster declaration for severe drought conditions impacting the state. The senator led a delegation letter to the president calling for additional federal assistance to be made available.

CRP Emergency Grazing and Haying

USDA recently opened additional Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) acres for emergency haying and grazing, following Hoeven’s efforts to do the same through agriculture appropriations. This builds on USDA’s approval of the senator’s request to allow emergency haying of CRP acres beginning July 16, as well as the delegation letter led by Hoeven that resulted in the opening of emergency grazing.

NRCS Wetland Restoration Acres Haying and Grazing

Hoeven also helped secure Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) acres for haying and grazing. Ranchers should visit their county NRCS office to submit paperwork to access these acres, which are lands that farmers have enrolled in 30-year easements with NRCS under the Wetland Restoration Easement program.

Transportation of Hay and Livestock

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has waived regulations in North Dakota allowing agriculture producers and motor carriers to more easily transport hay, feed, supplies and livestock in response to drought. Hoeven worked with the Department of Transportation to secure the waiver. More information can be found here.

The senator has also included a provision in the Senate’s Fiscal Year (FY) 2018 funding legislation to make funding available for the transportation of hay and livestock during drought conditions under the Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honey Bees and Farm-raised Fish program (ELAP).

Livestock Forage Disaster Program

Hoeven recently announced that ranchers in counties experiencing drought in D3 or higher categories are immediately eligible for payments under the Livestock Forage Disaster program. For counties under D2 intensity, eligibility begins after eight consecutive weeks of drought. The amount received depends on:

• The intensity and length of drought experienced in the affected county.
• The estimated monthly feed cost of covered livestock or the carrying capacity of insured grazing acres, whichever is less.

Eligible producers could expect to receive payments per head of adult beef cattle of approximately $17 at the lowest level of drought to $84 at the highest level of drought. For payments based on grazing acres, payments can range from $1.40 per acre at the lowest level of drought for native acres to $28 per acre at the highest level of drought for improved acres. The payment varies based on the number of acres required to support one animal in a given county and whether it is native or improved land.

North Dakota State University Extension Service has developed a tool to help ranchers calculate their payments, which can be found here. Ranchers should contact their local Farm Service Agency (FSA) office for complete details and calculations. Further details on the Livestock Forage Disaster Program can also be found here, and county information for North Dakota can be found here at the U.S. Drought Monitor.

Ensuring Adequate Loss Adjusters

Hoeven secured a commitment from the head of the Risk Management Agency (RMA) to ensure there are loss adjustors to assess drought damage in North Dakota. The senator urged Heather Manzano, Acting RMA Administrator, to hold insurance companies to their contracts and ensure they provide adequate personnel to address claims in a timely fashion, which she committed to do. This will help prevent delays for producers facing drought and other challenges.

FSA Emergency Assistance

The USDA has since designated counties in the state as natural disaster areas due to the drought, making additional assistance available for farm and ranch operators. This includes emergency loans through FSA. FSA has also committed additional staff and resources to prevent service delays in the areas facing severe drought, a response to similar provisions Hoeven included in the FY2018 funding legislation. Ranchers in affected counties have eight months from the date of the disaster designation to apply.

In addition, USDA has provided producers with FSA loans a 12-month exemption from a requirement that they have physical control of their livestock. This exemption will allow ranchers to weather the drought by moving their livestock to feedlots or other states where they have grass before taking back physical control at a later date.

Additionally, Hoeven recently reintroduced the Capital for Farmers and Ranchers Act, legislation to increase the FSA loan guarantee amount from $1.39 million to $2.5 million and double the amount of direct loans from $300,000 to $600,000. This covers two types of loans and loan guarantees:

 

• Farm Operating Loans – To purchase livestock, farm equipment, feed, seed, fuel, farm chemicals and insurance and to cover other operating expenses. It can also be used for minor improvements to buildings, costs associated with land and water development, family living expenses and debt refinancing in certain circumstances.
• Farm Ownership Loans – To purchase farmland, construct or repair buildings and other fixtures, develop farmland to promote soil and water conservation and to refinance debt.

 

Valley City  (CSi) The Valley City Area Chamber of Commerce reports,  Service Pets for Vets Fundraiser will be held on Sunday August 27, 2017.

On Friday’s Wayne Byers Show on CSi Cable 2, the Chamber’s Event Coordinator, Jerilyn Beckman said, the picnic will be at  4:00 PM – 7:00 PM @ Chautauqua Park.

 

 

Valley City (CSi)  Reconstruction continues at the Rosebud Visitors Center parking lot in Valley City.

On Friday’s Wayne Byers Show on CSi Cable 2, Valley City Area Chamber of Commerce, Event Coordinator, Jerilyn Beckman said it’s business as usual at the Chamber located at the Rosebud Visitor’s Center, and other services offered, there.

She said the project to convert the surface to concrete will take about five weeks to complete.

She added during reconstruction of the lot, visitors can park on the west side of the building.

There’s a driveway between that building and Northwestern Industries, that can be utilized.

The Rosebud Visitors Center houses the Chamber and Development offices, the DMV and the North Dakota Winter Show office.

 

 

FARGO, N.D. (AP) — Volunteers furnished with maps, bug spray and bottled water were searching areas Friday, near the Red River in north Fargo after family and friends of Savanna Greywind organized a search for the 22-year-old, who was eight months pregnant when she went missing.

The search included dozens of people who came from the Turtle Mountain Indian Reservation, where Greywind is an enrolled member. Stuart LaFountain a member of the tribal board, is asking people to “look into their hearts” and help find Greywind.

The quest to find Greywind has intensified since police found a newborn baby Thursday and arrested two suspects for kidnapping. Greywind was eight months pregnant when she disappeared. The suspects indicated to police that the infant was Greywind’s, but would not answer questions about Greywind’s whereabouts.

 

 

Bismarck  (Aug. 25, 2017  CSi) – Gov. Doug Burgum Friday requested a presidential major disaster declaration for extensive storm damage sustained by infrastructure, farmsteads and ranches in July.

The request follows the governor’s action last week declaring a severe summer storm disaster for Bowman, Dunn and Slope counties.

A series of severe thunderstorms on July 20-21 produced large hail and gusty winds of up to 73 mph, toppling power lines, causing significant damage to farm and ranch buildings, endangering livestock and damaging or destroying equipment. The storm also caused widespread damage for member-owned rural electric cooperatives. Total costs are expected to exceed $1.1 million.

The governor sent his request Thursday to President Donald Trump through Nancy Dragani, acting regional administrator for the Federal Emergency Management Agency. In addition to the disaster declaration, the governor is asking that North Dakota be designated as a Public Assistance Managing State and that the federal Hazard Mitigation Grant Program be implemented on a statewide basis.

Burgum made a separate request Aug. 8, 2017  for a presidential major disaster declaration for drought. That request is still pending.

 

 

 

 

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — A Minnesota towing and hauling company is teaming up with a Plains farm aid nonprofit this weekend to ship tons of hay for about a dozen drought-stricken ranchers in North Dakota.

Beyer Towing in Fergus Falls, Minnesota, and Farm Rescue have organized a convoy of 14 semi-loads of hay on Saturday and another half dozen loads on Sunday.

The cattle feed being sold at a reduced price will be trucked about 225 miles from Rothsay, Minnesota, to Menoken, North Dakota.

The latest U.S. Drought Monitor map shows 63 percent of North Dakota in some form of drought. Many ranchers have been forced to sell off cattle because they have no hay crop or can’t afford to buy hay with demand pushing prices to as high as double the normal cost.

 

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — The North Dakota Game and Fish Department has removed the open fire ban put in place in April on the Oahe Wildlife Management Area south of Bismarck-Mandan.

The area still falls under burn restrictions implemented by Morton, Burleigh and Emmons counties. That means open fires, including campfires, are allowed only when the fire danger rating is low or moderate.

The Oahe Wildlife Management Area covers 25 square miles in portions of the three counties. It’s prone to wildfires when it’s dry.

 

MINOT, N.D. (AP) — A Minot clinic that has treated thousands of people for free is closing its doors after 18 years.

The Minot Daily News reports City & Country Health Clinic will be treating its last patients Monday.

Clinic Manager Candy Johnson says the facility isn’t closing because of lack of money. She says the clinic board “felt that we have served our mission.”

Volunteers estimate that on average eight to 10 patients visited the clinic each week. The clinic has recently been open only Monday evenings, but over the years it was sometimes open two or three times a week.

The clinic will be sending its equipment, including exam tables, blood pressure cuffs and diabetic monitors, to Global Health Ministries for distribution to developing nations.

 

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