Ranchers could be eligible for drought assistance
Drought conditions continue to impact Bandera County, but there are some U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) programs available that can help eligible farmers and ranchers.
“This has been a devastatingly dry year, resulting in many failed crops and ranchers having to sell cattle,” Booker Young, Bandera County Farm Bureau president, said. “There are some USDA programs designed to help farmers and ranchers during extreme weather events such as this drought.”
Two USDA programs include the Livestock Forage Disaster Program (LFP) and the Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees and Farmraised Fish Program (ELAP).
LFP provides financial assistance to eligible livestock producers and contract growers who also produce forage crops for grazing and suffered losses due to a qualifying drought or fire during the normal grazing period for the county.
Eligible livestock include alpacas, beef cattle, buffalo/bison, beefalo, dairy cattle, deer, elk, emus, equine, goats, llamas, reindeer or sheep that have been or would have been grazing the eligible grazing land or pastureland during the normal grazing period.
ELAP provides financial assistance to eligible producers of livestock, honeybees and farm-raised fish for losses due to adverse weather events, such as drought. ELAP helps cover the above normal costs of transporting feed and water or hauling livestock to forage or other grazing acres.
Vehicle size and weight requirements have also been suspended for operators of commercial vehicles to travel in and through the Lone Star State to provide disaster assistance in Texas.
The oversize and overweight permitting requirements under Transportation Code Chapters 621 through 623, as well as Title 43, Chapter 219 of the Texas Administrative Code, are for all divisible and non-divisible vehicles and loads.
“The drought has become more severe, forcing ranchers in our county to find feed and hay outside of the local area,” Young said. “That comes at an increased cost for product and trucking.”
For more information on drought programs, contact the local USDA Service Center.
More details on the disaster declaration for vehicle size and weight requirements are available from the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles at txdmv.gov.