CRP haying/grazing provided drought relief in 2012

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced in mid-December that the U.S. Department of Agriculture's measures to open conservation land to emergency haying and grazing during the 2012 drought freed up a record 2.8 million acres and provided as much as $200 million in forage for producers facing critical feed shortages. Vilsack made the announcement during the national drought forum in Washington, D.C., co-sponsored by numerous federal agencies, governors' associations and academic partners.

"... USDA remains committed to doing everything it can to help farmers, ranchers, businesses, and local and county governments meet drought-related challenges," said Vilsack. "Now we know that the actions taken by USDA and other federal agencies at the height of the drought provided much-needed flexibility during a difficult time. We also know that drought recovery is a long-term proposition, and we will continue to partner with producers to see it through."

At the height of the 2012 drought, the Secretary announced expanded use of Conservation Reserve Program acres for haying and grazing including a two-month extension for emergency grazing on CRP acres without incurring an additional CRP rental payment reduction. By providing this flexibility, USDA freed up forage and feed to benefit all livestock producers during a critical period, on top of additional USDA actions, including lowering the interest rate for emergency loans and working with crop insurance companies to provide flexibility to farmers.

USDA's Farm Service Agency reported to the Secretary that roughly 2.8 million acres under 57,000 CRP contracts utilized the emergency haying and grazing option, compared to just over 1 million acres in 2011. In 2005, producers used roughly 1.7 million CRP acres for emergency haying and grazing, the previous record. USDA estimates of the gross value of forage provided in 2012 run from $140 million to $200 million.

While USDA's efforts during the drought have delivered assistance to those who need it most, Vilsack noted that the department is hampered in its efforts by the lack of a Farm Bill and he urged Congress to take action so that programs that could assist affected producers could be used to help them.

In recent months, USDA has also announced further drought efforts:

* Purchased approximately $170 million worth of pork, lamb, chicken, and catfish for federal food nutrition assistance programs, including food banks, to help relieve pressure on American livestock producers and bring the nation's meat supply in line with demand.

* Authorized up to $5 million in grants to evaluate and demonstrate agricultural practices that help farmers and ranchers adapt to drought.

* Authorized $16 million in existing funds from its Wildlife Habitat Incentive Program and Environmental Quality Incentives Program to target states experiencing exceptional and extreme drought.

* Transferred $14 million in unobligated program funds into the Emergency Conservation Program to help farmers and ranchers rehabilitate farmland damaged by natural disasters and for carrying out emergency water conservation measures in periods of severe drought (more than $6 million of this amount was targeted for Kansas).

* Lowered the reduction in the annual rental payment to producers on CRP acres used for emergency haying or grazing from 25 percent to 10 percent in 2012.

* Simplified the Secretarial disaster designation process and reduced the time it takes to designate counties affected by disasters by 40 percent.

The National Drought Forum is co-sponsored by: NOAA, USDA, EPA, DOI, FEMA, National Drought Mitigation Center, National Integrated Drought Information System, Western Governors' Association, Southern Governors' Association, Midwestern Governors' Association, and the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research.

Editor's Note: Doug Niemeir is the County Executive Director for the USDA/Farm Service Agency. Doug may be reached by emailing him at Douglas.Niemeir@ks.usda.gov.