State cattle producers receive $6.5 million in drought relief

US - Oklahoma cattle producers will receive $6.5 million from a U.S. Department of Agriculture program to help them cope with the financial impact of Oklahoma's ongoing drought.
calendar icon 18 December 2006
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But a spokesman for the state Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry said the money is not nearly enough to fully compensate producers for their losses this year.

"I have been saying all along this is a Band-Aid on a major wound," spokesman Jack Carson said. "It's not going to offset anybody's loss but these are dollars that are going to help."

The $50 million government program was launched in September and is being divided among 20 states that were hit hardest by drought this summer.

Oklahoma cattle producers could get a check averaging about $500 per farm. Farmers who applied for the aid will get about $3.84 for each large grazing animal they listed on a grant application.

Agriculture officials feared livestock producers could get as little as 50 cents per animal if it were divided among every cattle producer in the state but only a small portion applied for the grants, Carson said.

Source: High Plains Journal

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