WASHINGTON, D.C. – At a U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture hearing today, U.S. Senator Heidi Heitkamp urged leaders of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to do everything they can to support North Dakota ranchers in drought-stricken areas—including opening up more Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) acres to haying to help ranchers access forage before it loses its nutritional value. And today USDA announced it was listening to some of Heitkamp’s concerns, and would provide greater flexibility to ranchers by allowing grazing in any county whose border is within 150 miles of a county with severe drought.

The action also allows ranchers in that expanded set of counties to donate their hay to those in severe drought counties if the ranchers in the moderate drought counties are CRP contract holders allowed to hay within their mid-management contract plan.

“Until USDA does everything it can do to help North Dakota farmers and ranchers weather this drought, I won’t let up,” said Heitkamp. “At today’s hearing, I called on USDA to expand emergency grazing and haying to give our ranchers at least some relief as they try to maintain their herds. This morning USDA leaders announced that they’ve heard my concerns loud and clear, and will expand emergency grazing on CRP lands to most of North Dakota—including areas where drought conditions remain moderate. This drought is an existential threat to our ranchers and our farmers, and I’m going to fight to make sure USDA uses every tool available to help farm and ranch families get through this.”

Last week, Heitkamp and the rest of the North Dakota congressional delegation successfully pushed USDA to allow ranchers access to emergency grazing of CRP acres in counties experiencing drought conditions. The announcement came just days after the delegation pressed USDA to open CRP lands to North Dakota ranchers impacted by drought.

To help North Dakota producers, Heitkamp launched a new webpage on her official U.S. Senate website earlier this month to provide resource information for farmers and ranchers who have been hit hard by the severe drought that has spread across North Dakota. Responding to the many North Dakotans she has heard from, Heitkamp’s webpage aims to provide information that can help connect them with the federal, state, and local resources they need.

Click here to view Heitkamp’s webpage, which includes helpful information to help North Dakota farmers and ranchers learn more about the resources available to them, as well as North Dakota Department of Agriculture’s Drought Hotline and interactive map.