Feds Buying Meat to Assist Drought-Stricken Livestock Producers

The purchases will also strengthen federal nutrition programs

The Agriculture Department (USDA) will purchase up to $170 million of pork, lamb, chicken and catfish for federal food nutrition assistance programs, including food banks. 

The purchase is intended help relieve pressure on American livestock producers during the drought, while helping bring the nation's meat supply in line with demand while providing high quality, nutritious food to recipients of USDA's nutrition programs. 

"These purchases will assist pork, catfish, chicken and lamb producers who are currently struggling due to challenging market conditions and the high cost of feed resulting from the widespread drought," said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. "The purchases will help mitigate further downward prices, stabilize market conditions, and provide high quality, nutritious food to recipients of USDA's nutrition programs." 

Pork, catfish, chicken and lamb 

The purchase includes up to $100 million of pork products, up to $10 million of catfish products, up to $50 million in chicken products and up to $10 million of lamb products for federal food nutrition assistance programs, including food banks. 

Through the Emergency Surplus Removal Program, USDA can use Section 32 funds to purchase meat and poultry products to assist farmers and ranchers who have been affected by natural disasters. The pork, lamb and catfish purchases are based on analysis of current market conditions. 

A major factor affecting livestock producers is the value of feed, which is currently running high because of the drought. 

USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) purchases a variety of high-quality food products each year to support the National School Lunch Program, the School Breakfast Program, the Summer Food Service Program, the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations, the Commodity Supplemental Food Program and the Emergency Food Assistance Program. USDA also makes emergency food purchases for distribution to victims of natural disasters. 

Food items are required to be low in fat, sugar and sodium. The commodities must meet specified requirements and be certified to ensure quality. AMS purchases only products of 100 percent domestic origin. 

Assistance programs 

Within the last month, USDA has opened the Conservation Reserve Program to emergency haying and grazing, has lowered the borrower interest rate for emergency loans, and has worked with crop insurance companies to provide more flexibility to farmers. USDA has also announced the following: 

  • Authorized $16 million in existing funds from its Wildlife Habitat Incentive Program (WHIP) and Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) to target states experiencing exceptional and extreme drought.

  • Authorized the transfer of $14 million in unobligated program funds into the Emergency Conservation Program (ECP) to help farmers and ranchers rehabilitate farmland damaged by natural disasters and for carrying out emergency water conservation measures in periods of severe drought.

  • Authorized haying and grazing of Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP) easement areas in drought-affected areas where haying and grazing is consistent with conservation of wildlife habitat and wetlands.

  • Lowered the reduction in the annual rental payment to producers on CRP acres used for emergency haying or grazing from 25 percent to 10 percent in 2012.

  • Simplified the Secretarial disaster designation process and reduced the time it takes to designate counties affected by disasters by 40 percent. 

During the 2012 crop year, USDA has designated 1,628 unduplicated counties across 33 states as disaster areas -- 1,496 due to drought -- making all qualified farm operators in the areas eligible for low-interest emergency loans.

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