USDA drought declaration offers assistance to Iowa farmers

CEDAR RAPIDS – Gov. Terry Branstad and the state's congressional delegation welcomed news that the USDA has issued a disaster declaration to assist farmers in 42 Iowa counties who are suffering drought-related losses.

The USDA declaration, announced by Secretary of Ag Tom Vilsack Aug. 1, “will provide affected Iowans with additional resources during these difficult times,” said Branstad, who requested the disaster declaration in a July 16 letter to Vilsack, a former Iowa governor.

However, congressmen also said the drought disaster assistance now available is no substitute for action on the 2012 Farm Bill. It has been passed by the Senate and approved by the House Ag Committee. However, the bill has not been brought to the full House for action.

The USDA announcement follows a report from the U.S. Drought Monitor that an area of Iowa from Ames to Des Moines to the Quad Cities to Dubuque is now considered to be in “extreme drought.” It previously had been considered to be in “severe drought.”

The counties included in the declaration have suffered from a drought intensity value of at least D2 – Drought-Severe – for eight or more weeks or D3 – Drought-Extreme – or higher at any time during the growing season, according the USDA.

The drought, which State Climatologist Harry Hillaker said is worse than any drought going back to 1936, could last another two months.

Regardless of how long it last, it “continues to inflict hardship on farmers in Iowa and across the Midwest,” according to Sen. Tom Harkin, senior member and former chairman of the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee.

The USDA declaration will allow farmers to apply and qualify for low-interest loans and other disaster assistance, he said. Farmers in all Iowa counties will be allowed expanded haying and grazing on Conservation Reserve Program acres.

He encouraged producers in the declaration area to contact their local Farm Service Agency offices for additional information. Farmers who seek to graze or harvest forage from Conservation Reserve Program acres – including expanded acreage such as wetlands and waterways announced today -- should check with their local FSA office as well.

First District Rep. Bruce Braley called the declaration “a step forward in helping farmers deal with this summer's harsh weather, but we cannot stop there.”

“Congress needs to pass the Farm Bill as soon as possible to give farmers the protections they need,” he said. “Extending these disaster assistance measures would be good for Iowa farmers, but the Farm Bill is much more than disaster relief.

“The drought is bad enough and we don't need to compound the problem by letting farm bill expire,” Braley said.

Second District Rep. Dave Loebsack, who last week introduced the Agriculture Disaster Assistance Act to help farmers and livestock producers with drought losses beyond insurance until a new farm bill is signed into law, used the announcement to advocate for congressional action.

“I have been walking the rows with farmers to hear firsthand about the damage the recent heat and lack of rain has done to their crops and livestock,” he said. “USDA has moved to help Iowa farmers. Now Congress needs to act and stop playing politics.”

Passage of a Farm Bill would give farmers certainty, Loebsack said.

“Unfortunately, with disaster programs already expired and the farm bill is about to expire it is now more important than ever for Congress to get to work instead of going on vacation while the fields wither,” he said.

The counties identified in this declaration have experienced a drought intensity value of at least severe for eight or more consecutive weeks, with some counties experiencing extreme drought conditions at some point.  Harkin is a senior member and former chairman of the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee.

Counties included in the USDA designation are:

Appanoose, Benton, Black Hawk, Boone, Bremer, Buchanan, Butler, Cedar, Clayton, Clinton, Davis, Delaware, Des Moines, Dubuque, Fayette, Grundy, Hamilton, Hardin, Henry, Iowa, Jackson, Jasper, Jefferson, Johnson, Jones, Keokuk, Lee, Linn, Lucas, Mahaska, Marion, Marshall, Monroe, Muscatine, Polk, Poweshiek, Scott, Story, Tama, Van Buren, Wapello and Wayne.  Benefits are also available for the contiguous counties of Allamakee, Cerro Gordo, Chickasaw, Clarke, Dallas, Decatur, Floyd, Franklin, Greene, Louisa, Madison, Warren, Washington, Webster, Winneshiek and Wright.