FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Cattle groups request help for fire- and drought-ravaged producers

FORT WORTH, Texas, March 16, 2006―As a tornado of fire devoured the Texas Panhandle March 15, leaders of the state’s livestock groups sent a desperate plea for government help.
         A previous plea on Jan. 24 brought nominal assistance from disaster programs overwhelmed by victims of hurricanes and other natural disasters.
         The U.S. Department of Agriculture approved emergency haying and grazing of land held in conservation reserve and allocated $3.9 million for rehabilitation in 21 of the 254 Texas counties.
         But conditions are bleak statewide. The Palmer Drought Severity Index updated March 14 shows severe drought in 102 Texas counties, moderate drought in 138 and mild drought in the 14 Trans-Pecos counties.
         The letter drafted by Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association and cosigned by Texas Cattle Feeders Association and the Texas Farm Bureau acknowledges the challenges Congress faces in balancing needs for assistance with the budget deficit.
         However, the situation in Texas and Oklahoma is critical, the letter said. “We are pleading that Congress and the Administration take immediate action to assist agriculture producers facing the severe impacts from wildfire and drought.”
         “Since Dec. 26, 10,572 fires have burned 3,704,040 acres,” the Texas State Operations Center reported March 15. Economists at Texas A&M University had previously estimated that agricultural losses would exceed $1.5 billion, but adding the toll from this week’s devastation will eclipse that figure.
         “The fires have scorched over. 3.5 million acres of prime rangeland, destroyed pristine wildlife habitat, ruined hundreds of miles of fence and impacted thousands of rural lives in our communities,” the letter said.
         Intensifying drought during the past two months will have a more far-reaching impact. Ranchers are being forced to sell off their brood cows―the foundation of their business.
         “Since October, Texas ranchers have sold 379,000 more cattle through auction markets compared to this time last year,” the leaders reported. “This massive liquidation will financially impact ranchers for years to come.”
         The livestock leaders requested immediate funding of disaster programs administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, including the Livestock Assistance Program, the Livestock Indemnity Program and the Emergency Conservation Program.
         These programs will provide monetary assistance to offset losses of forage, feed, water and livestock and to rebuild structures and fences.

         Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association is a 129-year-old trade organization whose 13,500 members manage approximately 5.4 million cattle on 70.3 million acres of range and pasture land, primarily in Texas and Oklahoma.

TSCRA-03-2006