WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Pat Roberts today said the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) released Conservation Reserve Program(CRP) acreage in Kansas for emergency grazing due to serious, long-term drought conditions.

Senator Roberts noted the thirty-one counties that have been approved for emergency grazing of CRP acreage are: Cheyenne, Clark, Comanche, Decatur, Edwards, Ellis, Ellsworth, Finney, Gove, Graham, Grant, Gray, Greeley, Hamilton, Haskell, Kearny, Lane, Lincoln, Logan, Meade, Morton, Ness, Osborne, Rawlins, Rush, Russell, Seward, Stanton, Stevens, Thomas, and Trego.

On May 30, Senator Roberts wrote a letter urging U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Mike Johanns to release CRP acreage immediately for emergency grazing. “I am pleased USDA quickly acted on our request to bring relief to Kansas producers hit hard by the drought,” Senator Roberts said. “By allowing the emergency grazing of CRP land, producers can prevent damage to grazing and crop acreage.”

“The past years of drought have placed a tremendous pressure on pastures, forcing some producers to sell livestock or move them out of state,” Senator Roberts said. “Absent moisture, this is at least one step we can take to help our producers stay in business.”

Senator Roberts is a senior member of the Senate Agriculture Committee.