[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1996, Book I)]
[May 30, 1996]
[Pages 834-835]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Statement on Drought Relief for Southern Plains States
May 30, 1996

    I am today directing the Secretary of Agriculture to take action to 
provide relief for producers suffering from drought. Specifically, small 
grain producers with Federal crop insurance who have suffered major 
small grain and forage crop losses will be eligible for assistance under 
both the Nominated Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP) as well as 
crop insurance.
    Millions of acres of seeded small grain forage have been lost due to 
drought. Even though all acreage is recognized as grain, some producers 
intended more than one use from a single

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planting: forage for livestock and grain for harvest.
    While crop insurance compensates for grain losses, it does not 
compensate for the forage or grazing values of those crops. To alleviate 
the extreme hardships the drought caused, NAP provisions are being 
extended to cover small grain forage and grazing losses, even though the 
final intended use is grain. This action will provide an estimated $70 
million in assistance, primarily to producers in Texas and Oklahoma, 
many of whom are facing the worst drought in 100 years.
    Secretary Glickman made this recommendation to me after visiting the 
Southern Plains region last month, and having extensive discussions with 
Congressmen de la Garza, Stenholm, Richardson, Skeen, and Senator 
Bingaman. Their hard work helped us to recognize that if we do not make 
full use of the tools we have, a lot of farmers may not be in business 
by the time we finally see adequate rain.
    USDA's NAP program provides crop loss protection for growers of many 
crops for which Federal crop insurance is not available. Funding for NAP 
payments is assured, and State offices of USDA's Farm Service Agency 
have flexibility to define eligible areas. To be eligible, producers 
must have a previously established record at their local Farm Service 
Agency office of both grazing and cropping their small grain acreage.