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New program flexibility for livestock producers
U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced Monday new flexibility in the USDA’s conservation programs to expedite drought help for livestock producers. On a conference call with reporters, Secretary Vilsack said that more land can be used for emergency haying and grazing. That land is to include not just D2, D3 and D4 counties, which refers to increasing degrees of drought severity, but would also include the less severe D0 and D1 counties.
“In other words, all counties in the country which are currently on the drought monitor as being somewhere between abnormally dry to extremely dry will now be included in the emergency haying and grazing effort,” said Secretary Vilsack, during the call Monday.
The agency will also continue to allow that haying and grazing result in returning just ten percent of the Conservation Reserve Program rental payment instead of the usual 25 percent, said Vilsack. And only for this year, said Secretary Vilsack, the USDA will allow hay harvested under emergency circumstances to be sold.
“This will be something that’s not ordinary for us to do, but given the severity of this situation, it may very well be an opportunity for folks to provide help and assistance to their neighbors who are suffering,” Vilsack said.
During the call, Vilsack chided the U.S. House of Representatives for not yet bringing the 2012 Farm Bill to the floor for debate. Passage of the farm bill could bring some relief of its own for livestock producers, according to Vilsack.
“There’s nothing more important to rural America, nothing more important to the producers, farmers and ranchers of this country than action on this bill,” said Vilsack.
Passage of the farm bill could revive the disaster programs for livestock producers that expired on September 30 of last year, said Vilsack.
“Those programs along with assistance under the SURE (Supplemental Revenue Assistance Payments) Program provided 400,000 payments of nearly $4 billion of assistance and help as a result of floods and fires and drought in the past. There’s no greater need for this help and assistance than now, and there’s no excuse or reason why the House of Representatives cannot take this matter up,” said Vilsack. “I know of nothing more important to rural America than this bill.”
Vilsack is encouraging crop insurance companies to provide a short grace period for farmers on unpaid insurance premiums. Specifically, he is asking that the companies not charge interest on the unpaid premium balance for an extra 30 days, bringing that deadline to November 1. The purpose for doing that, said Vilsack, is to provide relief for the farming families who are struggling to make ends meet at the close of the crop year.
AUDIO: Secretary Vilsack (20 min. MP3)
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