ISSUES/LEGISLATION: AGRICULTURE: DISASTER AID

Farms and ranches across South Dakota and throughout the Great Plains have been ravaged by years of severe drought conditions that rival the Dust Bowl of the 1930's. As family farms fold and entire herds are sold off, out-migration continues to threaten rural America. All of this is why I have worked hard to include a structured agriculture disaster response program in the 2008 Farm Bill. I was pleased that this program would not function as a disincentive for crop insurance, and requires all producers to purchase whole farm coverage to be eligible for the program. If a producer chose not to purchase insurance but would still like to participate in the disaster programs for 2008, farmers and ranchers can pay a "buy-in" fee by September 16, 2008 to ensure eligibility. Producers should contact their local FSA office as soon as possible if they are interested in participating.

Over the past several years I have heard from agricultural producers and local government officials who were extremely concerned about the absence of adequate moisture in many portions of South Dakota. During my drought tour in the summer of 2006 with Senator John Thune, we consistently spoke with producers who were experiencing yet another year of drought. It is essential that adequate disaster assistance measures are in place during these times, whether it be ensuring availability to water or allowing producers access to quality hay.

I was extremely frustrated that this Administration continually failed to adequately assist producers during one of South Dakota's worst droughts in decades. The White House's approach to disaster assistance was simply "too little, too late." I called the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and invited then-Secretary of Agriculture Mike Johanns to visit South Dakota to witness the severe damage that successive years of drought had caused throughout the state. The Secretary Johanns came to South Dakota, but unfortunately rolled out a grossly inadequate agriculture disaster assistance program.

I also worked with Senator Thune and Representative Herseth Sandlin in pressing Secretary Johanns to open Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) acres for haying and grazing. Unfortunately, by the time the USDA opened up CRP acres, the land in many parts of the state was virtually useless.

I wrote to President Bush, urging him to establish a drought relief program that would target those who suffer from actual losses, avoiding the type of waste and abuse that was disclosed with implementation of the 2002 program. Again, a request for meaningful assistance fell on deaf ears. The White House even threatened to veto a spending bill for Hurricane Katrina victims and the Iraq war if it contained a nickel of agriculture assistance money for our nation's producers. It has become painfully clear that real drought assistance was simply not on this Administration's agenda, and that preserving our nation's food security is not a White House priority.

An agriculture disaster is no different from any other type of natural disaster, and comprehensive ag disaster assistance is necessary to keep farmers and ranchers in the fold. Additionally, it is crucial to ensure that dollars are distributed in as timely a manner as possible. Extensive delays in assistance are absolutely unacceptable - producers cannot wait for assistance and make financial planning decisions based on this promised money. USDA has often fumbled the ball on program implementation, and I will continue to monitor the implementation of ag disaster dollars to see that South Dakota producers are well served.

The latest drought information | NOAA: Up-to-date drought information