After spending much of August out of Washington, Congress is back – and rural America is watching closely, hoping for passage of a Food, Farm and Jobs Bill as soon as possible.
With farmers facing the worst drought in decades this summer and the current Farm Bill set to expire on September 30 of this year, time is running out for Congress to act.
You and I both know the stakes couldn’t be higher.
Since early this summer, when the Senate passed a comprehensive, multi-year Food Farm and Jobs Act, the Administration has expressed its preference for such comprehensive legislation and urged Congress to act before the current law expires. Read more »
Tags: Conservation, Disaster Assistance, drought, Farm Bill, Food Farm and Jobs Bill, jobs, Research, Rural America, Secretary's Column
Conservation, Environment, Food and Nutrition, Rural Development, Science
Americans across the country are feeling the impact of the most severe and extensive drought in the last 25 years. We’ve heard from people throughout the United States, asking how they can help. That’s why today we’re launching USDA’s first-ever Drought Code Sprint, a call to developers across the country to use publicly available government information to help farmers, ranchers, and others gain quick and reliable “one-click” access to information on drought conditions and Federal drought relief. Developers can submit their apps using this form by October 5. Some of the most innovative ones will be featured on USDA.gov.
Crops are withering as a result of this historic drought and feed for livestock is growing ever more scarce and expensive. None of us is immune—these conditions are affecting over 50% of the country and almost 80% of our agricultural land. But our rural communities and family farmers and ranchers are on the front lines, and have been the first to feel the drought’s full effects. They are working hard to overcome these hardships, and the Federal Government has stepped up to help.
Of course, apps can’t influence the weather or refill our reservoirs. But they can help farmers and ranchers become more easily aware of the kinds of assistance available to them, and they can simplify the process of taking advantage of these options so relief gets to the people who need it as efficiently as possible.
Some tools we’d love to see include apps that provide “one-click” access to the nearest USDA service centers and available drought programs; county-level drought disaster designations and program eligibility; information on Federal assistance available based on location and sector; types of loans or refinance options available with a handy repayment calculator and eligibility requirements; drought maps; and localized weather outlooks. These are just a few of our ideas but we’re confident that you have even better ones—so get coding!
To get started, check out these publicly available data sets in the Natural Hazards Data Community on Safety.Data.gov and on the USDA drought website:
We encourage developers to use other freely available resources on safety.data.gov or the USDA website as well—including Agriculture Weather and Drought Outlook blog posts and Drought Assistance Programs and Information sites—and any other data resources that would be helpful to those affected by the drought.
Here is a great opportunity to apply American ingenuity and technology to the cause of helping America’s farms. We look forward to seeing your ideas.
US. Pasture and Range Conditions. Click to enlarge image.
With the summer crop season winding down at a rapid pace, the agricultural weather focus is turning to winter wheat. In the hard red winter wheat belt of the Great Plains, wheat planting got off to a slow start due to extremely dry conditions. By September 9 , planting was behind the five-year average pace in all seven major production states on the Plains, according to USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service. Planting progress was more than five percentage points behind the average in Colorado (0% planted versus the average of 13%), Nebraska (8 vs. 16%), and South Dakota (8 vs. 14%). Ongoing drought across the nation’s mid-section is also reflected by current rangeland and pasture conditions. On September 9, nearly all (97%) of the rangeland and pastures were rated very poor to poor in Nebraska, along with 92% in Missouri, 89% in Kansas, 87% in Colorado, and 86% in New Mexico. Farther east, however, pastures have improved with recent rainfall. Most notably, pastures in Illinois were rated 59% very poor to poor on September 9, a significant improvement from 72% a week ago and 90% on August 26. Read more »
Today, President Obama and I continue doing all we can to help farmers and ranchers impacted by the drought. As Congress comes back to Washington in September we will continue to encourage passage of a Food, Farm and Jobs Bill as soon as possible – to give USDA tools to help those who have been impacted by drought, while giving more certainty for farmers and ranchers.
While the drought has taken a toll on agriculture this year, we also know that America’s history of agricultural innovation and research advancement means farmers and ranchers are better-prepared than ever before to mitigate its effects.
USDA scientists and research partners have helped to provide these important new tools for decades – and their work continues today. Read more »
USDA Undersecretary Michael Scuse and Cass County FSA committeeman and farmer Trent Smith discuss the drought’s impact on this year’s soybean crop. Smith’s farm was one stop on the Undersecretary’s tour assessing Missouri’s drought.
Last week, USDA Undersecretary Michael Scuse visited with farmers and ranchers in Missouri and Kansas. Scuse is just one of several USDA officials to fan out to more than a dozen drought-affected states in the past two months as part of President Obama’s commitment to get help to producers impacted by the nation’s worst drought in a generation. Over the past eight weeks, USDA has helped to lead these efforts by opening conservation acres to emergency haying and grazing, lowering the interest rate for emergency loans, working with crop insurance companies to provide flexibility to farmers, and offering other forms of assistance meant to bring relief in the short and long term. Read more »
Isaac's impacts: Locally heavy rains and strong winds from the Gulf Coast region to the corn belt.
Visit www.usda.gov/drought for the latest information regarding USDA’s Drought Disaster response and assistance.
Hurricane Isaac moved ashore early Wednesday, August 29, in southeastern Louisiana with maximum sustained winds near 80 mph. Once inland, the storm steadily weakened, losing its tropical characteristics over Missouri on Saturday, September 1. Nevertheless, Isaac’s remnant circulation continued to drift across the eastern Corn Belt during the Labor Day weekend, generating locally heavy showers from the lower Midwest into the mid-Atlantic region. Storm-total rainfall reached 10 to 20 inches in the central Gulf Coast region, while some drought-affected areas in Arkansas, Missouri, and Illinois received in excess of 4 inches. In the Mid-South and lower Midwest, positive effects of Isaac’s rainfall included replenishment of soil moisture in preparation for the soft red winter wheat planting season and starting the process of pasture recovery. Read more »
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