News Releases for September 2002
September 19, 2002
For further information, please Contact: Lance Gaebe, Agriculture Advisor to the Governor or Don Canton
(701) 328-2200
Hoeven Announces USDA Will Provide $750 Million In Livestock Compensation Program
BISMARCK, N.D. - Governor John Hoeven today announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will award $750 million in livestock compensation to farmers and ranchers in 30 states, including North Dakota. Hoeven said producers would still be eligible for assistance under the proposed agricultural disaster legislation now before Congress.
The USDA Livestock Compensation Program will provide farmers and ranchers with:
- $18.00 per head of beef cattle
- $31.50 per head of dairy
- $13.50 per head of stock cattle
- $18.00 per head of bison
- $4.50 per head of sheep
The money will come from the agency’s Section 32 funding, which buys surplus commodities from distressed industries for distribution in federal food programs.
“Between drought and flooding, our farmers and ranchers have suffered terrific hardship at the hands of the weather this summer,” Hoeven said. “We have worked hard with Administration and agency officials to help them get through this period.”
Hoeven is in Washington this week to push for the agriculture disaster bill now before Congress, and to lobby senior White House officials and key legislators for additional aid to producers. The U.S. Senate passed a disaster bill last week, and legislation is now in the U.S. House of Representatives to provide aid to farmers and ranchers hit this summer by a wide range of natural disasters.
The Governor met Wednesday with USDA Deputy Secretary James Moseley; Secretary Veneman’s Chief of Staff Dale Moore; Under Secretary for Natural Resources and the Environment Mark Rey; and Assistant Secretary Mary Waters. Hoeven also met with Congressman Joe Skeen, R-N.M., who sits on the House Appropriations Committee, which will be key in funding an agriculture disaster bill. The Governor will meet with President Bush’s chief agriculture advisor, Chuck Connor, on Friday.
“The emergency plan announced today will help those in the grip of drought, but we will continue to push for an agriculture disaster bill to help those who have crop losses due to either drought or excessive moisture,” Hoeven said. “In North Dakota, our producers have been hit doubly hard by the weather and they need assistance to carry them over into the next season.”
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