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Ranchers.net

R-CALF United Stockgrowers of America


“Fighting for the U.S. Cattle Producer”



For Immediate Release Contact: Shae Dodson, Communications Coordinator
July 10, 2008 Phone: 406-672-8969; e-mail: [email protected]





Cattle Producers Seek Solutions to Judge’s Halt of CRP Grazing

Billings, Mont. – R-CALF USA members in drought-stricken areas around the country are rapidly growing more and more concerned about their survival after learning that a federal judge in Washington state this week granted a temporary restra ining order to some environmental groups, which immediately halts grazing of Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) land.

In May, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) decided to initiate the Critical Feed Use (CFU) program to help cattle farmers and ranchers by allowing grazing and hay production on CRP land because of drought and other natural disasters and because of the high costs of feed. The plaintiffs in this case assert that USDA should have conducted an environmental impact assessment before launching the Critical Feed Use program. A full hearing on the matter is scheduled for July 17.

“If these groups are worried about an environmental impact statement, they ought to look at the condition of the native range, which has taken a beating, and this program was going to be the bridge to try to get us down the road,” said R-CALF USA Member Gerald Schreiber, who ranches near Woodrow, Colo. “Any piece of CRP I’ve ever used is improved over the long-term. We’re not going to abuse the CRP land.

“This decision is a real slap,” he continued. “People have been fencing. They’ve been anticipating this because hay is $150 a ton or more. This will continue to cause damage to our native range because you no longer have any options for moving your cattle. This decision affects your psyche. It just wears on you. With corn as expensive as it is now, it’s a real quandary.”

Schreiber said to amplify his point that he wondered what people would think if they went to their local grocery stores and there was no beef available for purchase, or what would the public’s reaction be if people went to their favorite fast-food place and there were no longer burgers on the menu.

“This restraining order just creates anxiety, and there’s no reason for it,” Schreiber continued. “Wildlife, including nesting birds, are adaptable. Because of our drought, a lot of our wildlife has moved away to find greener places, but where are we going to go with our cattle? CRP was our option.”

R-CALF USA Member Steve Parker ranches in the Oklahoma Panhandle and said he has been back and forth 50 miles to town several times to visit with officials at his Farm Service Agency office in the past two days and has spent a lot of time on the phone asking his congressional representatives to step in.

“Right now, I understand they’re scrambling trying to decide what to do with our $75 CRP sign-up fee,” he said. “We gave that money in good faith. I spent the better part of three weeks building fence and moving tanks and scrambling trying to figure out how we’re going to water these cattle on these old, worn out wheat fields that have been planted back to blue stem grass, and now some judge in Washington is telling me I can’t run cattle on this, so yes, I’m upset. The Senator’s office told me they’re getting their heads together to fight this thing, and I said, ‘Boys, hurry!’ In another month, we’d just as well forget it. Time is of the essence.”

R-CALF USA CEO Bill Bullard said the group supports USDA’s efforts to provide assistance to cattle producers stricken by drought, floods and other natural disasters, and that the group will continue to explore how producers in drought-stricken areas can obtain needed relief.

In the meantime, Bullard recommended that producers in drought-stricken areas contact their state attorney general to ask their state to immediately intervene in the lawsuit that is currently blocking access to CRP acres.

“This may be the most effective means of resolving this issue, though contacts to members of Congress should also be made to ensure that no option is ignored,” he said.

“We were hoping that the combination of the permanent disaster assistance program contained in the new Farm Bill, along with USDA’s Critical Feed Use program, would help to mitigate some of the financial losses experienced by cattle producers caused by prolonged drought and higher forage costs,” Bullard said. “We encourage USDA to step forward immediately to make sure this temporary restraining order doesn’t turn into an injunction, the effects of which will cause harm to numerous farmers and ranchers who continue battling a serious drought.”
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