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| Duane A. Lienemann UNL Estension Educator |
I am not so sure that the crops didn’t root down like they should and now are suffering because of it. And there just isn’t much water down below for them to go down too, now that they really need it. I would imagine a lot of you have notices the withering, browning or at least the bluish color that permeates throughout our dry land farms. I am a little afraid that we are back to the normalcy we have experienced the last couple of years, and if you really think about it – much of the same that we have experienced since 1999 or 2000. Gosh, if we were in that 15 year dry cycle they talk about, we should be getting close to a wet cycle. I am getting tired of this abnormally dry and extreme drought humdrum!
One only has to walk through the pastures and hay-land, especially in the southern half of the bottom tier of counties in South Central Nebraska and the bulk of Southwest Nebraska to see the effect of shortage of rain. Dryland crops are also suffering and if you are in “irrigation land” then you just need to look at the pivot corners to see what our rainfed farmers are experiencing. We will likely be running out of grass, and hay will be short as we get to the last couple months of the typical grazing season. I started to notice the change during our County Fair. When we had the horse show on July 19, I noticed that the grass at the rodeo grounds was as nice and green as I had seen it in years. One week later when we were cleaning up after the fair I noted how brown that grass had turned, a complete turn-around in a few days. Now I can say. “What a difference a week can make!” And that difference is not good news to our crops or our livestock.
I would imagine that many of our cattle producers are looking at alternatives to help stretch what they do have left including perhaps early weaning and supplemental feeding as well as rotations between or within pastures. It does not look pretty right now, and don’t be surprised if we slip back into the drought notation. You may want to keep track of the progress of this downturn at: http://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/ which is a part of the National Drought Mitigation Center http://drought.unl.edu/ . I doubt anyone would holler too loud if any of you want to volunteer to do the Rain Dance.
This brings me to something I would hope that most of our livestock producers have already done, and if not should definitely look into applying for these benefits afforded to us. The 2014 Farm Bill included funding for livestock emergency programs that encompasses most of our area. Depending on the size and type of farm or ranch operation, eligible producers can enroll in one of three programs administered by the Farm Service Agency. The Livestock Forage Disaster Program (LFP), and the Livestock Indemnity Program (LIP) will provide payments to eligible producers for livestock deaths and grazing losses that have occurred since the expiration of the livestock disaster assistance programs in 2011, and including calendar years 2012, 2013, and 2014. The Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees, and Farm-Raised Fish Program (ELAP) provides emergency assistance to eligible producers of livestock, honeybees and farm-raised fish that have suffered losses because of disease, severe weather, blizzards and wildfires.
Because of the uncertainty of funding with the possibility of ramifications from the sequester, officials suggested not waiting until October to sign up for LFP or LIP or you might not get the coverage you think you should. I suggest getting your records together and make an appointment ASAP if you qualify for any of these programs. And with the higher chance for the last half of 2014 being drought affected, be sure to keep records on forage production, grazing and particularly if you have to sell livestock or make major changes that qualify under these emergency assistance programs.
Most of the producers in our part of the country will more likely qualify for LFP which is further explained at: www.fsa.usda.gov/Internet/FSA_File/lfp_long_fact_sht_2014.pdf . This program provides compensation to eligible livestock producers that have suffered grazing losses due to drought or fire on land that is native or improved pastureland with permanent vegetative cover or that is planted specifically for grazing. LFP payments for drought are equal to 60 percent of the monthly feed cost for up to five months, depending upon the severity of the drought which is set by the aforementioned Drought Mitigation Center for your county, or even if you are in any contiguous counties.
It is possible that we could have some producers who qualify for LIP which is further explained at the USDA website at: www.fsa.usda.gov/Internet/FSA_File/lip_long_fact_sht_2014.pdf which provides benefits to livestock producers for livestock deaths in excess of normal mortality caused by adverse weather or by attacks by animals reintroduced into the wild by the federal government. LIP payments are equal to 75 percent of the average fair market value of the livestock. This usually comes from weather related events like freak blizzards, extreme cold or heat and yes - tornadoes. If you have had livestock and were affected with your grazing over the last couple of years – you may want to “Git-r-done!
The preceding information comes from the research and personal observations of the writer which may or may not reflect the views of UNL or UNL Extension. For more further information on these or other topics contact D. A. Lienemann, UNL Extension Educator for Webster County in Red Cloud, (402) 746-3417 or email to: dlienemann2@unl.edu or go to the website at: www.webster.unl.edu/home
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