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The Journal Record

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Panhandle Drought Aid Request Pushed

July 4, 2008

Members of Oklahoma's congressional delegation expressed support Thursday for the state's disaster designation request for counties in the northwest part of the state that have been suffering under a drought.

U.S. Sens. Jim Inhofe and Tom Coburn and Rep. Frank Lucas sent a letter to U.S. Agriculture Secretary Ed Schafer seeking action on the request.

A secretarial designation would make farm operators in the covered counties eligible for low-interest loans, the counties eligible for payments under the Livestock Indemnity and Supplemental Crop Revenue Assistance programs, and livestock producers eligible for "involuntary conversion" under the tax code.

If a rancher has to sell livestock early because of drought conditions, the tax on the gain from the sale of those animals can be postponed for one year.

The counties involved are Cimarron, Texas, Beaver, Harper, Woodward, Ellis, Roger Mills, Dewey and Woods.

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