Farmers Union Requesting Emergency CRP Grazing in Drought-Stricken States

The National Farmers Union is asking the Department of Agriculture to release Conservation Reserve Program lands in drought-stricken states for haying and grazing. NFU, along with state affiliations in North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota and Montana, are urging USDA to release the CRP grounds immediately. In a letter to Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue, Farmers Union emphasized the need for immediate relief for affected farmers. The letter says Farmers Union members are reporting a deteriorating feed supply, and that “while recent rainfall has helped, it has done little to significantly alter conditions in the long term." Emergency haying and grazing of CRP land is authorized in areas affected by a severe drought or similar natural disaster to provide relief to livestock producers. Given the severity and duration of the drought, the group warned that “waiting until August to allow producers on to CRP land will provide little relief, as the grass will be of little nutritional value,” by that time.