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Disaster help ready for area farmers

Disaster help ready for area farmers
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack last week announced two new pieces of disaster assistance for farmers and ranchers impacted by the nation’s worsening drought.
First, Vilsack is expanding emergency haying and grazing on approximately 3.8 million acres of conservation land to bring greater relief to livestock producers dealing with shortages of hay and pastureland. In response to the expanding drought, Secretary Vilsack last week announced that livestock producers and other participants in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) will now be able to hay and graze acres that have been ineligible in the past. Those interested are asked to contact their local farm services agency for more information.
Second, the Secretary announced that crop insurance companies have agreed to provide a short grace period for farmers on insurance premiums in 2012. As a result, farming families now have an extra 30 days to make payments without incurring interest penalties on unpaid premiums.
More than half (50.3 percent) of all counties in the United States have been designated disaster areas by USDA in 2012, mainly due to drought.

WCP 8.07.12