Emergency CRP haying available in some North Dakota counties as drought expands

Some North Dakota counties are now eligible for emergency haying and grazing on Conservation Reserve Program acres, the state Agriculture Department announced Friday.

Eligible counties must have either been in severe drought for at least one week, but less than eight consecutive weeks, or have been granted county committee or state committee approval. Producers should check with their county Farm Service Agency office to ensure their acres are eligible.

Eligible counties are: Benson, Bottineau, Burke, Burleigh, Cavalier, Divide, Kidder, Logan, McHenry, McIntosh, McLean, Mountrail, Nelson, Pierce, Ramsey, Renville, Richland, Rolette, Sargent, Sheridan, Towner, Walsh, Ward, Wells and Williams.

“Unfortunately, certain areas of North Dakota have moved back into severe drought status or have lost significant forage production,” Agriculture Commissioner Doug Goehring said. “There is now another option available for our livestock producers who need more haying and grazing acres.”

Severe drought surfaced in North Dakota over the past week for the first time in five months. Large portions of the northern third of the state are now rated in that category, the middle of five degrees of intensity on the U.S. Drought Monitor map. Those areas make up about 7% of the state.

Much of the rest of the north and the southeastern corner of the state are in moderate drought, one step down on the scale. The rest of northwestern and eastern North Dakota are rated abnormally dry, the weakest category. About two-thirds of the state is in some form of drought.

The U.S. Drought Monitor is a partnership of the National Drought Mitigation Center, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.