Following the destructive wildfires that swept through Kansas in March, U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran and U.S. Rep. Roger Marshall, both Kansas Republicans, introduced four bicameral bills last week to address the needs of farmers and ranchers impacted by natural disasters that drew from Kansans’ input.
Kansas experienced wildfires and tornados in the spring that left farmers and ranchers grappling with tens of thousands of dollars in crop and livestock losses at the same time they needed to begin repairing their property. The new legislation would make changes in the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Farm Service Agency’s (FSA) Livestock Indemnity Program (LIP) and Emergency Conservation Program (ECP).
“This legislation, based on feedback from Kansans, will provide greater financial assistance and ease the burden on farmers and ranchers who feed the nation, even during disastrous times,” Moran said. “The changes to the LIP and ECP programs in this legislation will make certain that the FSA resources get to agriculture producers in need quickly and efficiently.”
S. 2050/H.R. 4211 would enable partial payments to producers under the LIP for salvage livestock. The LIP payment limit would increase from $125,000 to $250,000 under S. 2053/H.R. 4210. This raised limit would also apply to other programs which cover the loss of livestock, honeybees, and farm-raised fish, as well as forage to feed livestock.
S. 2054/H.R. 4213 would enable producers to avoid delays in recovery and receive up-front payments for fencing repair or replacement under the ECP before the work is done, based on the fair-market value of the portion being replaced or repaired. S. 2049/H.R. 4212 would increase the ECP payment limit to allow for the increased number of miles of fencing needed.
“Through the experience of two wildfires in two years, we have found several areas where adjustments to programs would improve their delivery,” Marshall said. “These four bills represent a much-needed step toward making disaster programs more responsive to producers.”
In March, Moran met with then-Acting USDA Secretary Michael Young to express his concern for needed FSA program changes that would help agricultural producers recover more quickly from natural disasters. A number of Kansas operators lost more than 500 head of cattle during the spring wildfires in the southwestern area of the state.
The four bills offer “a common sense approach to disaster program shortcomings reported by cattle producers and landowners. These changes will provide more effective assistance to those affected by future disasters,” said Kansas Livestock Association President David Clawson, a rancher from Englewood.