This announcement follows a number of requests by Grassley to Department of Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman for such a declaration for Iowa. Grassley sent a letter to Secretary Veneman in late July requesting such a designation for Iowa, which followed a personal request by Grassley.
"This is good news for family farmers in Iowa. We've been working on getting this assistance to Iowa farmers for several months. It will be a tremendous help to those suffering from losses due to the drought," Grassley said.
Emergency haying and grazing of certain Conservation Reserve Program acreage may be made available in areas suffering from weather-related natural disaster. Generally, a county must have suffered at least a 40-percent loss of normal moisture and forage for the preceding four-month qualifying period to be eligible for assistance. However, the Farm Service Agency (FSA) will notify its State Committees that the 40-percent loss criterion no longer applies. State FSA committees may limit the area within the states if conditions do not warrant haying an grazing in all areas.
Through the emergency haying and grazing declaration, harvesting of hay and/or livestock grazing is allowed on cropland that has been removed from production of annual program crops, such as wheat and feed grains, and devoted to a long-term resource-conserving cover.