Sioux City Times

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Last Friday, U.S. Rep. Randy Feenstra (R-Hull) led the entire Iowa delegation in urging U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack to approve emergency grazing on Conservation Reserve Program land amid severe drought conditions in Iowa. 

In part, the lawmakers wrote, “While the rainfall we’ve received in 2023 is significantly less than average, we must also recognize the lack of subsoil moisture due to the dry conditions over multiple years and how it's amplified the circumstances. This drought has severely impacted our pastures and has limited our grazing capacity. Additionally, dry conditions have dwindled new hay production. Without adequate forage, producers are forced to make production decisions like selling some of the herd they’ve spent years and sometimes generations building. It’s a tough reality of agriculture, but USDA can help.”

“CRP contract acres can provide immediate relief to livestock producers who need to give their pastures a rest to allow for regrowth or to provide the necessary forage needed to maintain and care for their livestock. Therefore, we strongly urge you to immediately approve emergency grazing of CRP contract acres,” the lawmakers continued.

“In my conversations with Iowa farmers and producers on my 36 County Tour, I have repeatedly heard that we need to make policy tweaks to the Conservation Reserve Program that reflect the needs of our agriculture community,” said Rep. Feenstra. “Amid record drought conditions, the Biden Administration must provide our farmers and ranchers with the relief they deserve to protect their herds, tend to their land, and continue to feed our country and the world. I’m proud to lead the entire Iowa delegation in requesting that Secretary Vilsack immediately approve emergency grazing on CRP land to help our producers weather this drought and avoid significant economic losses.”

“This summer our farmers experienced the worst drought in over a decade,” said Rep. Miller-Meeks. “The extreme weather has not only devastated our crops, like corn and soybean fields, but it has also impacted our cattle farmers, who are wondering how their cows will get fed on dry pastures. I am proud to join Rep. Feenstra and the Iowa delegation in urging the Administration to immediately approve emergency grazing and give much-needed flexibility to our farmers.”

“Derechos, floods, and now, the worst drought in recent history have devastated Iowa’s farmers and ranchers that feed the world,” said Rep. Nunn. “We’re requesting emergency grazing to give Iowa’s farmers much needed relief.”

You can find the full letter HERE.

Original source can be found here.