The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) will provide assistance to farmers affected by the current drought. Some highlights of its actions include:
· USDA’s intention to purchase up to $100 million of pork products, up to $10 million of catfish products, up to $50 million in chicken products, and up to $10 million of lamb products for federal food nutrition assistance programs;
· Authorization to open nearly all of the Conservation Reserve Program grassland acres for emergency haying;
· Reduction of USDA’s Emergency Loan Rate from the previous rate of 3.75% to 2.25%; and
· USDA’s designation of 1,628 counties across 33 states as disaster areas—1,496 due to drought—making all qualified farm operators in the areas eligible for low-interest emergency loans.
USDA noted that information on the current drought is updated frequently on the agency’s dedicated drought webpage.
