By Jean-Paul McDonald, Farms.com
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has permitted emergency grazing and haying on land that is typically used for the Conservation Reserve Program in certain parts of eastern Idaho.
Regional officials in Bingham, Bonneville, Fremont, Madison and Power counties asked the USDA to approve emergency access to the lands due to drought conditions - which have parched pastures, resulting in poor crop yields.
Thanks to the USDA’s Farm Service Agency branch, cattle ranchers will have some resources to feed their herds. The agency announced Monday that their requests were approved. Authorization can be granted in times of emergency to provide relief to livestock producers due to certain natural disasters, in this case drought.