[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 10]
[Senate]
[Page 13831]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                  AGRICULTURAL ASSISTANCE ACT OF 2004

  Mr. DORGAN. Mr. President, I am pleased to join my colleague, Senator 
Conrad, in introducing legislation that provides much needed relief to 
farmers and ranchers who have been devastated by weather conditions.
  Farmers and ranchers from my state began the year with great 
optimism. Producers were eager to get their crop in the ground so they 
could get a good return on their investments and their hard work.
  But, harsh weather conditions have plagued our state. In some regions 
of North Dakota, late snow followed by unusually high rainfall left 
much of our fields under water and unfit to plant. Preliminary reports 
estimate that as much as two million acres of crops were unable to be 
planted or had crops that were destroyed after planting. This has 
placed the livelihood of many North Dakota producers in serious 
jeopardy.
  In the southwest portion of the state, the drought conditions have 
crippled livestock producers. Southwest North Dakota is terribly dry 
and has been for nearly two years. They have received almost no rain, 
making haying and grazing land very hard to come by, and causing feed 
expenses to soar.
  These family farmers and ranchers ought not have to bear this burden 
alone. I am very pleased to join Senator Conrad in introducing disaster 
legislation to help ease the financial burden of producers in their 
time of need. We need quick action on this legislation because 
producers need help, and they need it now.
  The legislation being introduced today is very straightforward and 
almost identical to disaster legislation enacted in previous years, 
including last year.
  Farmers experiencing crop loss of higher than 35 percent would be 
eligible for disaster assistance. Folks who bought crop insurance would 
be eligible for payments equal to 50 percent of the crop price, and 
those who did not purchase insurance would be eligible for payments 
equal to 40 percent of the crop price. Under this legislation, the 
uninsured producers will be required to purchase crop insurance for the 
following two years in order to receive any disaster assistance.
  Also, ranchers suffering grazing losses will be eligible for 
assistance to help pay for the cost of feed. To be eligible, they must 
have suffered 40 percent loss during three consecutive months.
  The weather conditions, beyond human control, have placed the 
livelihood of our farmers and ranchers at risk and I urge Congress to 
act quickly.

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