News Releases for July 2006
July 6, 2006
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Hoeven Takes Additional Measures To Address Widening Drought
BISMARCK, N.D. – Gov. John Hoeven today took several additional steps to address widening drought conditions in North Dakota, including a request to expand the opening of Conservation Reserve Program lands statewide to haying and grazing, and a request for the State Farm Agency to complete Damage Assessment Reports (DAR) as soon as possible.
- Hoeven requested that U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Mike Johanns expand statewide the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) lands open to haying and grazing to meet producer needs in the widening drought area. Currently, the USDA has authorized two counties to open CRP for grazing.
- "We are asking that USDA open CRP lands, including the CP-23 areas, as soon as possible and make haying and grazing available specifically to those producers affected by disaster," Hoeven wrote. "This action would help livestock producers to secure feed, since in many cases their traditional hay and pasture areas are barren due to almost no moisture since last year."
- Hoeven has also written to USDA Farm Service Agency Director Gary Nelson requesting him to complete Damage Assessment Reports as soon as possible. DARs are the first step toward securing a secretarial disaster declaration.
"Crop conditions and crop loss reports, as well as weather data provided by local and state officials throughout North Dakota for this growing season, have indicated loss of crop production and quality in varying degrees due to drought," Hoeven wrote.
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