08/21/07 Deadline for wildfire conservation assistance; milk price outlook

Washington Ag August 21, 2007 Washington agricultural producers whose grazing lands were affected by fires this year will have until August 29th to sign up for fire recovery assistance through the Environmental Quality Incentives Program. The Natural Resources Conservation Service says it is offering to assist private landowners in recovering from documented 2007 wildfires through a $4 per acre, per-year incentive payment. This incentive payment, which can be made for up to two years, is intended to help offset the ranchers' cost of finding alternative pasture. Dave Brown, NRCS assistant state conservationist for programs, says a key requirement of this assistance is that producers must agree to defer grazing on the contracted acres to give rangeland plants a chance to go to seed and regenerate naturally. Interested landowners are encouraged to contact their local USDA Service Center. The USDA continues to see the all-milk price for this year averaging a record high. USDA Outlook Board Chairman Gerry Bange has the numbers. Bange: "$19.25 per hundredweight. That is up nearly 50% from 2006 and would exceed the previous record which was $16.05 in 2004." Bange says that for 2008 the all milk prices is expected to drop 50 cents a hundredweight and average $18.75 cents. I'm Bob Hoff.