News Releases for February 2005
February 11, 2005
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Hoeven: USDA To Make Quality Loss Adjustments On Disaster Aid
BISMARCK, N.D. - Gov. John Hoeven today announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) intends to adjust disaster payments to producers of small grains to reflect the quality discounts they received in the market. Producers of hard red spring wheat, durum wheat and malting barley will benefit due to a more accurate assessment of losses incurred through drought, excess moisture and frost.
“I am pleased that the USDA has decided to re-evaluate their process, and adequately assess the losses incurred by our producers,” Hoeven said. “We worked hard this last summer and fall to convince Congress to pass a comprehensive agriculture disaster assistance package. It is good news that producers will be adequately covered by this program.”
Hoeven talked to Secretary Johanns last week about this issue and also urged him to proceed deliberately and carefully in the consideration of opening the U.S. border to Canadian beef. Due to the importance of these two issues to North Dakota producers, Hoeven asked Lt. Gov. Jack Dalrymple to personally meet with USDA officials this week in Washington to address our state’s concerns.
News of the changes to Quality Loss Adjustments came during a meeting in Washington between Dalrymple, Deputy Agriculture Secretary Jim Moseley and Deputy Under Secretary of the Farm and Foreign Agriculture Services Floyd Gaibler.
“Deputy Under Secretary Gaibler assured me that the obstacles have been removed and that adequate formulas will be incorporated to assist producers with their quality losses in small grains,” Dalrymple said.
North Dakota agriculture groups have also been actively lobbying the USDA to consider utilizing discount tables that more closely reflect the discounts that farmers are seeing due to damaged kernels, low test-weights, off-color, or low falling numbers.
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