A request by U.S. Rep. Greg Walden (R-OR) seeking federal relief for home-state ranchers and wheat farmers on Sept. 5 received approval from U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue.
Rep. Walden on Aug. 2 requested a secretarial disaster designation for the state due to losses caused by wildfires. The lawmaker also asked that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) authorize emergency grazing on Conservation Reserve Program acreage, and that USDA’s Risk Management Agency (RMA) provide flexibility to summer fallow wheat farmers. While USDA continues reviewing requests for designating counties as disaster areas, Secretary Perdue did approve the congressman’s latter two requests.
“I applaud Secretary Perdue’s prompt approval of my request to get our farmers and ranchers the assistance they need to get back on their feet after these fires,” said Rep. Walden, chairman of the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee, on Sept. 6.
“This wildfire season has not only impacted our forests and choked our communities with smoke, but also has devastated farmers and ranchers in Oregon,” Walden said. “Farmers and ranchers – especially in Wasco and Sherman counties – have lost some or nearly all of their crops to rangeland fires that burned across the region.”
In an Aug. 2 letter sent to Perdue, the lawmaker explained that soil erosion was a major concern following wildfires that consumed more than 250,000 acres in Oregon. Rep. Walden said that USDA offered specific funds to help farmers with emergency cover cropping to stabilize the soil, but farmers who planned to use the funds were concerned doing so would affect their RMA categorization and, in turn, their crop insurance. Farmers wanted assurances “they are not negatively impacted for taking these important soil protection measures,” Rep. Walden wrote.
In a Sept. 5 letter, Secretary Perdue responded that RMA had consulted with local agricultural experts in the state and determined that allowing cover crops on burned crop acreage would be beneficial for both farmers and the federal crop insurance program. “As a result, RMA will make changes to accommodate this practice on the affected acres for the 2020 crop year,” he wrote.
Perdue also approved Rep. Walden’s request for emergency grazing on federally protected land in Oregon through Sept. 30 for a portion of Sherman County.
Regarding Rep. Walden’s request that UDSA approve the state of Oregon’s disaster declaration, Secretary Perdue wrote that USDA is currently compiling reported losses and reviewing recommendations and additional information to complete the review process before making such a determination.