Disaster Assistance

Despite the fact that many of the 2008 Farm Bill disaster assistance programs expired last fall Ag Secretary Vilsack has managed to bend program rules to provide relief to growers suffering from this year’s severe drought. Several growers here in Washington though have been battling unusually high rainfall, and hail, and those farmers and ranchers may also be eligible for federal assistance. In response to extreme weather situations nationwide the USDA’s Farm Service Agency has been authorized to offer emergency loans and the Emergency Conservation Program, and emergency haying and grazing of Conservation Reserve Program land. Chris Bieker, Outreach Coordinator with the Spokane FSA office, talks about the USDA’s decision this week to approve emergency haying and grazing of CRP land in several Washington counties.

BIEKER: Seven of our counties, Adams, Benton, Douglas, Franklin, Grant, Kittitas,and Yakima have been approved for emergency haying and grazing of Conservation Reserve Program land, and that’s because of this drought nationwide. And so some of our county office folks are saying, “hey, we just got hit with floods - what are you talking about drought?” But their counties have hit a lower level than what has been required in the past. But once again the Secretary is trying to make this as flexible as possible in order to help producers, and so on that Conservation Reserve land producers in those seven counties can do what’s called emergency haying and grazing, if they get it approved by their FSA office, and they can provide feed either to their own operations or to other operations that might be in need of feed due to drought.

Reminder, farmers and ranchers should report weather-related damage to their local Farm Service Agency.

I’m Lacy Gray and that’s Washington Ag Today on the Northwest Ag Information Network.