WASHINGTON — U.S. Sens. John Thune (R-S.D.) and Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) have reintroduced the Livestock Disaster Assistance Improvement Act, bipartisan legislation that would enhance the effectiveness and timeliness of multiple U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) programs that assist agricultural producers in the aftermath of adverse weather events. The bill would also provide USDA with direction to help improve the accuracy of the U.S. Drought Monitor (USDM), which triggers certain disaster programs.
“South Dakota farmers and ranchers are all too familiar with working through extreme weather conditions, especially drought,” said Thune. “These common-sense updates to disaster programs would help provide greater and expedited assistance to producers when they need it the most. I’m proud to lead this bipartisan legislation that would make the Drought Monitor a more effective tool and help ensure USDA programs are using accurate and consistent data in administering programs that are designed to help the agriculture community.”
“Drought, wildfires, and extreme weather are making it harder for New Mexico’s farmers and ranchers to care for livestock, grow crops, and support our communities,” said Luján. “As a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, I’m proud to reintroduce this bipartisan legislation to help farmers and ranchers get the support they need when disaster strikes. USDA programs must respond faster and more effectively to provide the relief New Mexicans deserve. This legislation will help our agricultural producers weather the impacts of extreme weather and disasters and keep contributing to our economy and food security.”
Thune’s bill is supported by the South Dakota Farm Bureau, the South Dakota Cattlemen’s Association, and the American Honey Producers Association.
The legislation would make the following reforms:
Emergency Conservation Program (ECP) and Emergency Forest Restoration Program (EFRP):
- Clarify that state and federal grazing permit holders are eligible for these programs
- Streamline the ECP and EFRP permitting process to allow:
- The Farm Service Agency (FSA) to waive the 30-day public comment period for Bureau of Land Management (BLM) National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) applications during a drought emergency
- BLM to accept archeological reviews completed by Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) field staff during a drought emergency
- BLM to accept NEPA and endangered species reviews completed by NRCS field staff
Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honey Bees, and Farm-raised Fish Program (ELAP):
- Require ELAP honey bee assistance to factor in rates, including per-hive, per-colony, and per-standardized expected mortality, and require consistent documentation requirements
- Expand honey producer coverage for losses and costs, including transportation related to adverse weather and drought
Livestock Forage Program (LFP):
- Modify LFP to allow a one-month payment when a county reaches D2 (severe drought) for four consecutive weeks, compared to eight weeks under current law
USDM:
- Convene an interagency working group consisting of representatives from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Department of the Interior, and the state mesonet programs to develop recommendations to improve USDM data access, accuracy, and reliability
- Require the U.S. Forest Service and the FSA to sign a memorandum of understanding related to coordinating drought-related designation and response activities