President Trump directed USDA to authorize emergency grazing on Conservation Reserve Program lands in Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas, the three states most heavily damaged by wildfires that began March 6, 2017. 

“Ranchers are facing devastating conditions and economic calamity because of these wildfires and they need some relief, or else they face the total loss of their herds in many cases,” said Acting Deputy Secretary Michael L. Young. “These measures will allow them to salvage what remains of their cattle and return to the important business of feeding Americans and the rest of the world."

The leader of the NCBA praised the quick action.

“President Trump, the USDA, and Governors Brownback, Fallin, and Abbott deserve a great deal of credit for moving swiftly to open these lands to grazing so that many of the cattle producers who were dramatically impacted by last month’s wildfires can feed their herds," said Craig Uden, National Cattlemen's Beef Association president in a media statement. "Those devastating wildfires burned more than 1.5 million acres in Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas and killed an estimated 9,000 – 18,000 cattle. Those cattle can’t be replaced, but today’s action will help ranchers salvage what remains of their herds.”

American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall thanked President Trump and USDA for authorizing emergency grazing on Conservation Reserve Program land. USDA officials told AFBF they stand ready to work with Colorado farmers and ranchers should their governor make a similar request to the department.        

“The emergency provisions of the Conservation Reserve Program are essential in times like these," Duvall said. "We are hopeful that Congress will pay special attention to wildland fire management issues as it begins the hard work of producing a budget for 2018.”

The USDA action is required to direct the Farm Service Agency to permit the grazing on lands covered by the CRP, which exists to conserve and improve wildlife resources. In this case, the grazing will overlap with the primary nesting season of the lesser prairie chicken. CRP has procedures in place, already developed with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, to permit emergency grazing on protected lands during nesting season. Lesser prairie chicken nesting season runs in Texas from March 1 to June 1, in Kansas from April 15 to July 15, and in Oklahoma from May 1 to July 1.

Ranchers and farmers are only now able to begin to estimate losses, since the fires are still burning in some places and access to the lands to survey the damage has been limited. Damages in the states are expected to grow, but are now estimated as follows:

Kansas

Oklahoma

Texas

The authorization is pursuant to appropriate restrictions and conservation measures, which can be found in the Acting Deputy Secretary’s memorandum.

Source: USDA