News Releases for June 2002
June 28, 2002
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Hoeven Tours Drought Stricken Counties, Takes Steps To Secure Relief For Farmers And Ranchers
BISMARCK, N.D. - Governor John Hoeven today is touring eight counties in south central North Dakota as part of a continuing effort to secure assistance for drought-stricken areas of the state. The drought has caused severe distress to the state’s farming and ranching industries, and has led to fires that claimed two lives and injured two others this year.
The Governor flew over Kidder, Logan, Emmons, McIntosh, Sioux, Grant, Adams and Hettinger counties, and made ground stops in the communities of Linton, Ashley and Mott for a closer inspection of farms and ranches in the affected areas. All eight counties have issued drought declarations since June 4, 2002.
Hoeven and Emergency Management Director Doug Friez are teaming up with the U.S. Department of Agriculture to assess drought damage preparatory to making a request to Secretary of Agriculture Ann Veneman for a secretarial declaration of disaster. Last week Hoeven, as chair of the National Governor’s Association’s Natural Resource Committee, prepared a letter endorsing the National Drought Preparedness Act of 2002, now before Congress, which would authorize a drought assistance fund and other measures to mitigate drought.
“We are reviewing the drought-stricken areas as part of the process to get a secretarial disaster declaration,” Hoeven said. “This will enable our farmers and ranchers to obtain low-interest loans and other federal assistance.”
On Wednesday Hoeven asked North Dakota State University to prepare a preliminary estimate of losses to the state due to excessively dry conditions. NDSU calculated a $203 million loss in crops and a $55 million loss in forage for livestock.
Two weeks ago Hoeven contacted the Farm Service Agency (FSA), which is administered by the USDA, to request that Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) lands be opened for grazing in areas with reduced forage production. Ranchers in a total of thirteen North Dakota counties have received grazing waivers from the FSA to graze CRP land owing to severe dry conditions. In addition to those eight listed above, Bowman, Burleigh, Dickey, LaMoure, Morton and Stutsman counties have received grazing waivers.
The Governor followed up yesterday with a call to USDA Deputy Secretary Jim Moseley. In addition, the Governor directed the North Dakota Department of Transportation to make areas mowed by the department available to adjacent landowners for haying.
“Our farming and ranching industries are enormously important, and we are seeing great hardship,” Hoeven said. “We must marshal all of our resources - state, federal and local - to prevent a larger disaster from occurring.”
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