The U-S-D-A has authorized emergency haying and grazing on Conservation Reserve Program acres in Iowa, to give some relief to livestock farmers hit hard by drought. Senator Charles Grassley says it’ll help ranchers lacking livestock feed because of the drought, which has affected many Great Plains states.Grassley thinks many Iowa counties can benefit, and notes that the farther west you go, the worse it is. Grassley says he’s been in southwest Iowa counties that “don’t have a kernel of corn in the whole field.”Grassley says haying and grazing isn’t going to help bring money to farmers’ pockets in this kind of drought spell, it’ll just stem the amount of damage suffered by farmers. Iowa’s other U-S senator, democrat Tom Harkin, says the U-S-D-A should have been quicker to give states permission to authorize haying and grazing on C-R-P acres. Farmers can apply to their local Farm Service Agency and get permission from the F-S-A for the emergency haying and grazing.
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