Agricultural News
Obama Adminstration Focuses on Expanding Drought Assistance for Producers
Wed, 18 Jul 2012 15:56:23 CDT
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack called on Congress to work quickly to enact measures to assist livestock and grain producers hit hard by the deepening drought.
In a Whitehouse news conference, Vilsack said that 78 percent of the corn crop and 77 percent of the soybean crop has been impacted. He said it is too early to tell how badly yields will be affected, but the markets are growing increasingly uneasy. He said the price of corn has risen 38 percent since June 1st, and soybeans have climbed 24 percent.
To assist farmers, Vilsack said the Obama administration has streamlined the disaster assistance process and has lowered interest rates on disaster loans from 3.75 percent to 2.2 percent. He also said producers would be allowed to hay or graze CRP acres and penalties for doing so would be drastically reduced.
With the addition of 39 counties to the list of those under a disaster declaration, Vilsack said 1,336 countie-or about 1/3 of all counties in the U.S.-are now affected by the drought
Food prices will undoubtedly be affected, the secretary said, but the results will not be immediate. As cattle producers begin to liquidate their herds, Vilsack said, the price of meat should actually fall before rising toward the end of the year and into 2013.
He said crop insurance should cushion the blow for many farmers, historically covering about 72 percent of their losses. He said livestock producers will feel the biggest bite due to the fact that livestock protection programs ended last year.
"It is the livestock producers who are in the biggest and most troubled situation because they simply don't have any disaster program. There's no such thing as 'crop insurance' for livestock," he said.
"In the meantime, I think that producers will make the decision to reduce herds, which is how they normally act to certain events like this so they can minimize what potential loss they may be facing."
Vilsack said USDA officials are fanning out across the county to assess the damage and learn if there is more the federal government can do.
Click on the LISTEN BAR below to hear the full press conference with Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack.
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