Drought Assistance is on the Way
By Sen. John Thune
The Fourth of July is one of my favorite holidays, and I know I’m not alone. Not only do we get to spend quality time with family and friends, but we get to celebrate everything that’s great about America. For most folks, the holiday usually means backyard barbeques, parades, fireworks, and a break from the usual nine-to-five grind. Unless you’re a farmer or rancher, that is. Every day is a workday. Livestock need tending, and the fields won’t work themselves.
Even during the best of times, farming and ranching is a tough business. And during the worst of times, things can get really, really tough. Extreme weather often plays a role, which is exactly what’s happening in South Dakota today with the drought that’s damaging crops and pastures in more than 90 percent of the state. The hard-working folks who make agriculture the state’s top industry are always up for a challenge, but they need a little help from time to time so they can sustain their operations. Now is one of those times.
I’ve been working with U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Sonny Perdue to identify ways that we can get some much-needed assistance to livestock producers faster and break down unnecessary bureaucratic barriers that make farming and ranching more difficult, particularly now during the drought.
A great example is USDA’s recent dueling announcements about Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) acreage. On one hand, USDA was telling producers to destroy useable hay on some CRP-enrolled acres. On the other hand, it was telling producers to use hay on other CRP-enrolled acres to graze livestock. These completely contradictory announcements made no sense and led to disbelief from producers that USDA would actually require destruction of useable hay during a drought.
Shortly after the announcement about hay destruction, I shared a bit of South Dakota commonsense with Secretary Perdue: You should never destroy hay when it could be used to feed cattle and help livestock owners who are struggling, especially during a severe drought. I strongly encouraged the secretary to reverse this order so the hay could be used to help folks who need it. I also encouraged him to authorize emergency haying and grazing on CRP-enrolled land in all counties that have a border within 150 miles of a county that’s been approved for emergency haying or grazing of CRP. The secretary quickly approved both of my requests, which proves that a little commonsense goes a long way.
The result of the secretary’s decision means no one will be forced to destroy useable hay that’s removed from CRP-enrolled land. It also means every single county in South Dakota will be immediately opened to grazing on CRP-enrolled land subject to mid-contract management and will be opened to emergency haying on August 1. All of South Dakota and North Dakota, two-thirds of Montana, half of Wyoming and Nebraska, and portions of Iowa and Minnesota are now available for emergency grazing on certain CRP land. That’s a big win for South Dakota farmers and ranchers and the livestock on which their livelihoods depend.
I will continue to work with USDA – and hold the agency’s feet to the fire when necessary – to ensure it’s doing all it can to assist South Dakota’s producers during these difficult times. In the meantime, I encourage those with CRP acres they want to use for haying or grazing to contact their local Farm Service Agency office as soon as possible to begin the approval process for this assistance.
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The Republican hypocrisy: Don’t assist anyone with healthcare, but gosh darnit if the farmers are in trouble socialism to the rescue.
Oh, good grief. Are you a farmer or rancher? You have no clue, sometimes it helps if you do not allow Mika and Joe (MSM) to distract you.
I’m a landowner and ran a small business. Nobody bailed me out if the situation turned negative and why should they. The lucrative farm programs have made most farmers wealthy in the last few years, so I’m stickin with hypocrisy. Farming is a business hands off let the market take care of itself. But take away health care how loving and caring.
Health care take away… you so misinformed…the 22M the left likes to throw around are additions to medicaid..ie Govt run program we all pay for…then less competition and services…down to 3 Obamacare companies…it is a train wreck…do some reading and get educated.
It is better to be thought a fool than to open one’s mouth and remove all doubt. Abe Lincoln
So, you’re not a farmer/rancher? I agree, let the market take care of itself. However, when the gov’t does get it right, it is a good thing. What Thune supports, is a good thing. I’m sorry that no one bailed you out. I can count, on one hand, the times gov’t has helped our generations of farmers, so I get it. Farmers should be wealthy, they work the a** off. Socialism is not good, do you agree with what is happening to little Charlie Gard? Has your MSM given you the scoop about him? That is socialism at it’s finest. You say hands off, so do I especially when it comes to health care.
The problem with welfare, bailouts, incentives, they alter the way people think, from looking after their own survival to gaming the system or taking additional risks. I’m fine with hard-working, rich farmers, but they need to sock money away for the natural ups and downs, not expect taxpayer help. The government is more involved with farming than health care. Everything is a program.
Life is a hard thing, visit a cemetery and observe all the infant grave stones and young mothers who died during delivery. That’s changed a lot, but insurance, private or public, cannot pay for everything. Insurance would be unsustainable if every sick baby was flown to another country for treatment. Ugly difficult decisions have to be made of what to treat, but private insurance policies in the U.S. also have limits. If they could afford it privately, they should have been allowed to fly their child for treatment.
We can’t have extreme life saving measures for everyone, 3rd and 4th generation welfare, TIFs for the developers, incentivize overproduction in farming and think our country is going to balance the budget.
The only difference between Democrats and Republicans is whose back they’re rubbing.