U.S. Congressman Blaine Luetkemeyer 9th District of Missouri

On August 8^th the USDA announced that its Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) will use $16 million in existing funds from its Wildlife Habitat Incentive Program (WHIP) and Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) to target states experiencing exceptional and extreme drought. This includes $1,061,320 for the state of Missouri.  NRCS will announce special signups for WHIP and EQIP funds which will allow eligible producers to apply for selected conservation practices. These practices include prescribed grazing, livestock watering facilities and water conservation practices. Eligible producers also can re-apply for financial assistance to re-install or re-apply failed conservation practices due to drought and modify existing contracts to re-schedule planned conservation practices. For information contact the NRCS office that covers your county or visit the Missouri NRCS Website.

The USDA also announced that its Farm Service Agency (FSA) will transfer $14 million in unobligated program funds into the Emergency Conservation Program (ECP). ECP provides emergency funding and technical assistance for farmers and ranchers to rehabilitate farmland damaged by natural disasters and for carrying out emergency water conservation measures in periods of severe drought. ECP also provides resources to help producers restore livestock fences. For more information, please contact your county FSA office with any questions or visit the Missouri Farm Service Agency Website.

USDA has opened the Conservation Reserve Program to emergency haying and grazing, has lowered the borrower interest rate for emergency loans, and has worked with crop insurance companies to provide more flexibility to farmers. USDA has also announced the following:

• Allowing producers to modify current EQIP contracts to allow for grazing, livestock watering, and other conservation activities to address drought conditions.
• Authorizing haying and grazing of Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP) easement areas in drought-affected areas where haying and grazing is consistent with conservation of wildlife habitat and wetlands.
• Lowering the reduction in the annual rental payment to producers on CRP acres used for emergency haying or grazing from 25 percent to 10 percent in 2012.
• Simplifying the Secretarial disaster designation process and reduced the time it takes to designate counties affected by disasters by 40 percent.

Supplemental Agricultural Disaster Relief Bill

 The House passed H.R. 6233 – the Agriculture Disaster Assistance Act before breaking for the August district work period.  This bill would reauthorize 4 of the 5 disaster programs that expired last year as part of the 2008 Farm Bill.  These programs are the only safety net for the livestock industry. If passed by the Senate and signed by the President, this bill would immediately provide relief to struggling livestock producers across the country.

 The total cost of this bill is $383 million, which is offset by $639 million in savings from the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) and the Environmental Quality Incentive Program (EQIP), resulting $256 million in overall savings. 

 Reauthorized programs would include: 

• Livestock Indemnity Program (LIP) – This program provides benefits to livestock producers for livestock deaths in excess of normal mortality caused by adverse weather.  Livestock producers receive 75 percent of their losses under this program. Click here for detailed information the LIP.
• Livestock Forage Disaster Program (LFP) – This program provides benefits for grazing losses due to qualifying drought conditions (as determined by the U.S. Drought Monitor report) or fire on rangeland managed by a federal agency.  Click here for detailed information on the LFP.   Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees, and Farm-Raised Fish Programs (ELAP) – This program is for losses that are not covered by LIP and LFP.  In order to qualify for this program, applicants must have purchased insurance through FSA’s Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP).  Click here for detailed information on the LFP.
• Tree Assistance Program (TAP) – This program provides financial assistance to qualifying orchardists and nursery tree growers to replant or rehabilitate eligible trees, bushes and vines damaged by natural disasters. Click here for detailed information on TAP. 

 Missouri Hay Directory

The state has created a hay directory to help connect farmers and ranchers looking to buy or sell hay.  Click here to visit the hay directory website or call (573) 751-5633.

USDA Increases Threshold for Auditing Crop Insurance Claims

In an effort to ensure that farmers recover losses in a quick and efficient manner, USDA has increased the threshold for auditing crop insurance claims from $100,000 to $200,000.

Overweight Loads of Grain, Silage and Baleage

MoDOT recently announced it will allow heavier than normal loads of grain, silage and baleage to be hauled on selected Missouri highways. Farmers, private and for-hire motor carriers may carry up to 10 percent more than their licensed weight, but heavier loads are not allowed to use interstate routes or national defense highway routes. National defense highways in Missouri include:

• U.S. 65 – between Interstate 70 and U.S. 60 in Springfield, Mo.
• U.S. 60 – From U.S. 65 in Springfield to U.S. 63 in Cabool, Mo.
• U.S. 63 – From U.S. 60 in Cabool to the Arkansas state line
• U.S. 71 – from Kansas City to the Arkansas state line
• U.S. 50 and Mo. 23 - From Whiteman Air Force Base to I-470 in Kansas City
• Mo. 17 and U.S. 63 – From Fort Leonard Wood to U.S. 60

Overweight permits are not required for these slightly overweight loads. All other traffic and motor carrier regulations that normally apply remain in place. The waiver for silage and baleage is in effect until Friday, November 30, 2012. The waiver for all grains is in effect until December 31, 2012. While these waivers are in effect, participating motor carriers are limited to:

• A loaded, gross weight no greater than ten percent (10%) above the gross licensed weight of the commercial motor vehicle
• Transportation only within the State of Missouri
• Drivers must obey all posted bridge weight limits
• When crossing a bridge, the driver must restrict the vehicle speed to no more than thirty miles per hour (30 mph) and must center the truck between two lanes of the bridge. The truck driver must yield to oncoming traffic, and
• Travel on highways other than Missouri interstate and national defense highways – NO TRAVEL IS ALLOWED ON MISSOURI INTERSTATE HIGHWAYS OR NATIONAL DEFENSE HIGHWAY ROUTES.

For questions, call 1-800-877-8499 between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m. CST.

State Soil and Water Reserve Fund

Governor Nixon released a total of $7 million from the State Soil and Water Reserve Fund to implement an emergency program that will help eligible farmers and ranchers gain access to water supplies. 

Under this emergency program, 90 percent of the eligible project cost will be covered. Normal soil and water cost-share programs provide 75 percent of the project cost, with the landowner covering the remaining 25 percent. Because of the emergency situation of the drought, applications from farmers for this cost-share program had to be submitted to either the local soil and water district or online to the state of Missouri at MO.gov by August 6, 2012.

• On July 17, all of Missouri’s counties were designated as a disaster area by the USDA. This designation allows for farmers and ranchers to apply for loans through the FSA. Farmers and ranchers have an 8-month period to apply for these loans. To apply, contact your county FSA office with any questions or visit the Missouri Farm Service Agency Website. These local offices can walk you through the process of applying, which includes providing the proper documentation to prove a loss.

• Certain Missouri counties have been classified as D3- Extreme Drought, and may be eligible for cost-share assistance for livestock water through FSA’s Emergency Conservation Program (ECP). This will allow qualified producers to receive financial assistance to do what it takes to get livestock a water source.

• Counties that meet the D3 classification must go through an approval process before implementing the program. Counties that are not yet classified as D3- Extreme Drought, can also qualify for ECP if they have a 40 percent shortage of rainfall in comparison to normal rainfall for the year. For more information, please contact your county FSA office with any questions or visit the Missouri Farm Service Agency Website.

• Emergency haying and grazing of Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) acres is now authorized in nearly every county in the state with CRP land. The latest count includes: Adair, Audrain, Bates, Bollinger, Boone, Buchanan, Butler, Caldwell, Callaway, Cape Girardeau, Carroll, Carter, Cass, Chariton, Clark, Clinton, Cole, Cooper, Daviess, DeKalb, Douglas, Dunklin, Franklin, Gasconade, Gentry, Grundy, Harrison, Henry, Howard, Iron, Jackson, Jefferson, Johnson, Knox, Lafayette, Lewis, Lincoln, Linn, Livingston, Macon, Madison, Maries, Marion, Mercer, Miller, Moniteau, Monroe, Montgomery, Morgan, Osage, Ozark, Perry, Pettis, Pike, Platte, Polk, Putnam, Ralls, Randolph, Ray, Ripley, Saline, Schuyler, Scotland, Scott, Shelby, St. Charles, St. Clair, St. Francois, St. Louis, Ste. Genevieve, Stoddard, Sullivan, Warren, Washington, Wayne, and Webster.

• Emergency grazing in approved counties is allowed through November 30, 2012. Emergency haying in approved counties expired on September 31, 2012, however, the Congressman has submitted a request to the FSA for a two-month extension. For more information, contact your county FSA office with any questions or visit the Missouri Farm Service Agency Website.

• USDA is encouraging crop insurance companies to voluntarily forego charging interest on unpaid crop insurance premiums for an extra 30 days, to November 1, 2012, for spring crops. Policy holders who are unable to pay their premiums in a timely manner accrue an interest penalty of 1.25 percent per month until payment is made. In an attempt to help producers through this difficult time, USDA Secretary Vilsack sent a letter to crop insurance companies asking them to voluntarily defer the accrual of any interest on unpaid spring crop premiums by producers until November. In turn, to assist the crop insurance companies, USDA will not require crop insurance companies to pay uncollected producer premiums until one month later. For more information, contact your county FSA office with any questions or visit the Missouri Farm Service Agency Website.

• NRCS is allowing for the modification of current EQIP contracts to allow for prescribed grazing, livestock watering facilities, water conservation and other conservation activities to address drought conditions. EQIP is a voluntary program that provides financial and technical assistance to agricultural producers on their land to address natural resource concerns on agricultural and forest land. NRCS will work closely with producers to modify existing EQIP contracts to ensure successful implementation of planned conservation practices. Where conservation activities have failed because of drought, NRCS will look for opportunities to work with farmers and ranchers to re-apply those activities. In the short term, funding will be targeted towards hardest hit drought areas. For information on how to modify EQIP contacts, contact the NRCS office that covers your county or visit the Missouri NRCS Website.

• NRCS is authorizing haying and grazing of WRP easement areas in drought-affected areas where such haying and grazing is consistent with conservation of wildlife habitat and wetlands. WRP is a voluntary conservation easement program that provides technical and financial assistance to agricultural producers to restore and protect valuable wetland resources on their property.

• For producers with land currently enrolled in WRP, NRCS has expedited its Compatible Use Authorization (CUA) process to allow for haying and grazing. The compatible use authorization process offers NRCS and affected producers with the management flexibility to address short- term resource conditions in a manner that promotes both the health of the land and the viability of the overall farming operation. For information on how on WRP, contact the NRCS office that covers your county or visit the Missouri NRCS Website.

• Because the drought is putting a serious strain on the hay supply, MoDOT is implementing a special hauling permit to help farmers move hay for livestock. This permit will allow for movement of wider loads through Dec. 31, 2012. Additionally, MoDot is waiving the fee for blanket oversize permits to haul wide loads of hay. 

• Farmers should call MoDOT’s Motor Carrier Services Office at 1-800-877-8499 to report the year, make and license plate number of their power unit and provide their business name and address. Then, Motor Carrier Services will issue permits via email or fax.