HomeAg NewsSenators Urge Ag Secretary to Improve Drought Response

Senators Urge Ag Secretary to Improve Drought Response

Colorado Senator Michael Bennet and Kansas Senator Roger Marshall sent a letter to Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack asking him to adapt USDA’s drought mitigation programs to provide sufficient resources to western farmers and ranchers.

The letter details testimony and recommendations given by Colorado and Kansas producers, water experts, and state health officials from a field hearing in Colorado. “Producers told us they can’t survive the current drought levels unless we make serious changes in how we address it,” says Bennet. “Their testimonies were invaluable, and now we need assistance from our USDA programs and upcoming farm bill to reflect those challenges.”

The letter specifically addresses multiple USDA programs that could be improved, including the Conservation Reserve Program and several others. The letter also recommends increased investment in water conservation research and the scaling of innovative and voluntary water conservation approaches, like the pilot program in Bennet’s Voluntary Groundwater Conservation Act.

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