Farmers in Minnesota are expressing some of the concerns they’re having because of the drought, so Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack toured areas in the state and talked with the farmers that were impacted.
“Obviously concerned about the drought and the need for as much assistance and flexibility as possible, whether it’s haying and grazing on CRP land, or whether it’s the Livestock Forage Program, relief to be able to purchase forage through the extent of this, or just hauling water, and NRCS programs can provide assistance and help,” Vilsack said. “I think a recognition that this is likely to be the kind of thing we’re going to have to confront on a more frequent basis and making sure that our support programs need to do what they can to provide help and assistance.”
USDA is allowing eligible farmers to hay and graze Conservation Reserve Program Acres, who may also be eligible for the Livestock Forage Program, but in that case, they’re limited to what they can harvest.
“Part of the problem is that these programs are not only created by regulation but they’re also created by statute that we’d have to take a look at and see whether or not we can create the kind of flexibility where people are receiving the help that they need without necessarily creating a situation where people are sort of double-dipping and creating and being compensated for the same loss twice,” he said. “And that’s the key, to make sure we’re not doing that, be wise stewards of taxpayer money. At the same time, providing the help and assistance producers can use.”
Vilsack explained that USDA plans to be resolving this issue in the fall. “That’s something I’m checking. I mean, there were a number of things that were raised during the course of my meetings here in Minnesota about the classifications, how frequently you’ve got to be in a certain drought designation, which I think we are going to have to work on from a statutory perspective. There were concerns expressed about the nesting season, and whether or not flexibility can be created there, we found that the statute doesn’t prevent that kind of flexibility.”
“So, these are things we’re going to check on. To the extent that we have flexibility, we will exercise it. To the extent that we need Congress to provide greater clarity or greater permission, we’ll obviously work with our friends in Congress to get that done,” Ag Secretary Vilsack said.
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