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Washington\u00a0 (CSi)\u00a0 Senator John Hoeven, chairman of the U.S. Senate Agriculture Appropriations Committee and a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, Thursday announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has opened additional conservation acres for emergency grazing and haying for areas of North Dakota affected by severe drought.<\/p>\n
These are conservation practice (CP) acres, except CP25 and CP42 programs. This authorization allows producers in all North Dakota counties as well as some counties in neighboring states to graze or hay CRP wetland and buffer practices, in addition to previously authorized lands. Specifically, counties experiencing D2 intensity or with any part of their border located within 150 miles of an authorized county are eligible. Interested producers should contact their local Farm Service Agency (FSA) office to access eligible acres.<\/p>\n
Hoeven has been pressing USDA to open additional CRP acres and today\u2019s announcement immediately follows Hoeven\u2019s efforts to secure additional support for farmers and ranchers affected by drought in the Fiscal Year 2018 agriculture funding bill, which directs USDA to open additional conservation acres. Further, it builds on USDA\u2019s approval of the senator\u2019s request<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is vital that USDA respond to worsening drought conditions, and we welcome the access to additional grazing and haying on CRP lands,\u201d Hoeven said. \u201cWe continue working to ensure that farm bill programs provide a secure safety net for our producers to help them get through this difficult time.\u201d<\/p>\n Hoeven is working to ensure that programs at USDA work well for farmers and ranchers, helping them weather the drought and maintain their operations. This includes:<\/p>\n NRCS Wetland Restoration Acres Haying and Grazing<\/strong><\/p>\n Hoeven also helped secure Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) acres for haying and grazing<\/a>. 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.<\/p>\n Livestock Forage Disaster Program<\/strong><\/p>\n Hoeven recently announced that ranchers in counties experiencing drought in D3 or higher categories are immediately eligible<\/a> for payments under the Livestock Forage Disaster program. For counties under D2 intensity, eligibility begins after eight consecutive weeks of drought. County information for North Dakota can be found here<\/a> at the U.S. Drought Monitor.<\/p>\n Ensuring Adequate Loss Adjusters<\/strong><\/p>\n