Agricultural News
Dakota Blizzard Underscores Urgent Need for Farm Bill Action, Lucas Says
Fri, 11 Oct 2013 16:51:48 CDT
An early blizzard in the Dakotas caught ranchers off guard this week, killing as many as 75,000 head of cattle. Many ranchers' operations are in tatters, and with the federal government shut down and no disaster assistance available without a farm bill, their short term prospects appear bleak.
Congressman Pete Sessions invited Agriculture Committee Chairman Frank Lucas to address the Rules Committee about the disaster. Here are Lucas's comments:
"My understanding is it was a combination of the worst possible weather events for livestock outside-a series of soaking rains, a dramatic drop in temperature, followed by ice, followed by snow. So, whether you're a 1200-pound cow, or a 600 pound calf, or even something younger than that, when you're soaked to the bone, you're subjected to incredibly low temperatures-below freezing-and the wind chill factor, you can't generate enough heat to dry out and stay warm. And you freeze to death."
"It is a tragedy in many ways. Understand that many of these are breeding stock operations. These are cattle-the bulls, the cows-the genetic pool has been in families for generations and generations and generations. There are pedigrees on a lot of these cattle that go back farther than most of our fellow citizens can identify who their ancestors are. So there's that loss. There's a loss of much of production into the human food chain."
"In the farm bill we have language that addresses livestock disaster losses. In the previous farm bill, because of budget issues, the programs were funded for four years of the five-year farm bill. So, it expired. We addressed those kind of issues in this farm bill."
"So, first of all, Mr. Chairman, let me say the sympathy needs to go out to all those good stockmen and women who have lost the work of a lifetime, maybe even generations. But also, we need to do this farm bill so the tools are there for them to address these economic losses.
"For these folks to put themselves back together, they've got to take care of the dead animals; it's a public health issue. They'll do that. They've got to address how they'll find replacement stock. And they've got to acquire those. That's why things like the farm bill are so important.
"So, if you want to help my friends in the Dakotas, let me get to conference and finish a farm bill that we can all vote for, Mr. Chairman."
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