The Maine Farm Service Agency is allowing emergency haying and grazing on Conservation Reserve Program acres for livestock producers whose fields have been impacted by this summer's excessive rain.
FSA State Executive Director Sherry Hamel says 3,200 acres in Aroostook, Franklin, Oxford and Penobscot counties are available for farmers and ranchers enrolled in the CRP program in those counties.
"So if anyone is interested in those four counties and they have land in CRP they need to contact their local FSA agency to put in a request. If approved they are allowed to do one cutting of hay or 90 days of consecutive grazing on that land," said Hamel.
Hamel says those enrolled in CRP will still receive their full rental payment for the land even if they allow emergency haying and grazing.
"People who produce hay have been able to maybe get 1 cutting this season, when they usually get 2 or 3 per season," she said. "So this is creating a hardship for livestock producers, the lack of feed is going to drive prices up. It's an ongoing situation that is causing concern for our livestock producers."
She says the FSA also offers the Emergency Livestock Assistance Program to cover extra feed costs above a qualified producers' annual feed cost as well as transport costs to bring livestock to other fields.
