TOPEKA, Kan. — USDA announced this week it will make $6 million available to Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas ranchers affected by wildfires through the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP). The funds will assist livestock producers attempting to restore grazing lands, rebuild fencing and protect damaged watersheds.
States will begin accepting applications in the near future. The application deadline for the EQIP Wildfire Initiative is April 21. Producers in affected counties should contact their local Natural Resources Conservation Service office for additional information.
Also this week, the Kansas Farm Service Agency (FSA) announced Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) acres in 14 counties have been authorized for emergency grazing. Livestock may be temporarily moved to CRP for no more than 30 days in Clark, Comanche, Ellis, Ellsworth, Ford, Hodgeman, Kiowa, Lane, Lincoln, Meade, Ness, Rooks, Russell and Seward counties. Livestock producers and CRP contract holders must first obtain approval from the county FSA office. No payment reduction applies. This is limited to livestock producers who lost pasture or fence due to wildfire. Authority to approve this 30-day emergency use expires April 1, 2017.
— Kansas Livestock Association
For more news from Kansas, click here.