# Hoeven requests CRP Haying



## Dick Monson (Aug 12, 2002)

> July 14, 2005
> For further information, please Contact the Governor's Office
> 
> *Hoeven Requests USDA Open CRP For Haying And Grazing*
> ...


Is this a statewide request? How many counties are actually affected? Because most of the state has the best haying and grazing conditions in a decade.


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## north14 (Oct 1, 2004)

Dick, I think the Gov. is refering to north central NoDak, Bottineau, McHenry, Renville, Rollete counties , etc. These areas are full of water from 20 plus inches of rain in June and July with little or no hay available for Ranchers to cut. Believe me it's a sorry situation up here.


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## Bob Kellam (Apr 8, 2004)

This is a littlle disturbing to me, I understand the livestock producers need to be able to feed their stock but to open the CRP and CP23 lands (which are wetlands if you were unaware) state wide seems a little over the top. the flooding is not state wide and the habitat has not fully recovered in some areas from the drought of the last few years. Most wetlands will be flooded anyway as moisture has been wide spread and the surrounding cover that is not flooded will be harvested for the hay or grazed leaving some vulnerable areas even more vulnerable.

if this is opened state wide can CRP be hayed sold and CRP payments still be collected in full?

I agree with Dick. Driving the countryside in ND this summer the hay crops in many areas looks like it is very substantial. Why state wide?

Later
Bob


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## ej4prmc (Dec 3, 2004)

Hay becuase it's dry, hay it somemore when wet! What the 0984758903 is going through his brain? The ranchers/farmers made a COMMITMENT to ten years by signing on the line. With cattle prices as high as they have been for the last 4 years, they can afford to buy MY hay at the deflatted prices we have been getting for the last two years. BAD BAD IDEA! :******:


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## Burly1 (Sep 20, 2003)

"make haying and grazing available specifically to those producers in disaster affected areas"....
I believe that narrows it down to those affected counties. Please correct me if I am wrong. I think statewide would be a bad idea. Burl


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## oatsboy (Mar 29, 2005)

here we have to carry min. crop ins. if this is true there make em foot the bill. farmers will have $ to buy quality feed,ej4prmc can make a little well deserved coin, and the crp can remain intact.
what ever the case,dont let them touch the crp,thats all our politions need here for you guys to set presadence.
so far ive been able to pay my taxes with the aid of $for hay of poor quality or hay not harvested during the past 2 wet years.
my ins payments keep going up and now the gov is given them new ways of not paying out when needed.
by the way how much is a ton of 8year old goldenrod bring ? just curious,needto know if my crp is going to replace my disaster payments.


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## Dick Monson (Aug 12, 2002)

oatsboy, I think CRP grazing and haying have done to _some_ extent every year in ND since CRP started, due to disaster declarations. I don't begrudge the farmers that truly need it, but it has been terribly abused too.


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## KEN W (Feb 22, 2002)

Weren't the rules changed to allow farmers to hay or graze 1/3 of their CRP every year for 3 years or all of it once every 3 years?


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## englishpointer (May 16, 2005)

From what I understand and I am no Expert, they cannot sell the hay off of CRP and have to pay to cut or graze it . So for the people needing it , in the hard hit areas I think us a *sportsman* need to take a step back and support these people. This is one of those things that can drive a wedge between Sportsman and Landowners, not fully understanding what we babble out of our mouths and making landowners upset and not allowing FREE hunting and instead go to a outfitter that is in business and will listen and understand why he is doing this sort of thing.

I would rather have them hay it then POST IT!!!!!!


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## Bob Kellam (Apr 8, 2004)

English

I am all for supporting landowners that are experiencing a natural disaster, all I am curious about is why open this statewide? Look at it this way North Dakotas hay crop for the most part is above average, now open the plots and wetlands to haying and grazing statewide, How much of it is going to be hayed by speculators that think they may be able to sell it and make some profit and not sold because of a possible bumper hay crop? Wasted habitat. Draw a circle around the affected areas and anyone within the area is able to hay or graze CRP or CP-23 not statewide.

Later
Bob


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## Dick Monson (Aug 12, 2002)

ep, I am a farmer and do have CRP.

One of the ways I was able to get it in the program was to agree to no-haying-grazing provision. Of course a disaster declaration over rides that. And yes I believe there were rule changes for grazing-manipulation once every three years. There has been some terrible abuses of the disaster declarations. For instance, the ususal scam is to get CRP hay at reduced price and then sell your own non CRP hay at a much higher price. Or hay it when you don't have cattle and market the hay later.


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## Trapper62 (Mar 3, 2003)

I have been sitting back on this one and watching, curious conversation!

Ken, you are right, that CRP can be cut in portions of thirds over a 3 year period or all at once. The hay cannot be sold but can be GIVEN to a person in need of hay. Which means that the person needing the hay cuts, bails and halls it. CRP haying opens in our county around August 10th. Sure not prime hay as a lot of it has gotten rank and very coarse by this time. The landowner CANNOT gain monetarily over it. Does this mean that there isn't some under the table payments going on, not at all, I'm sure everyone has heard of someone doing it, there are crooks in every profession!

CRP needs to have weed control done regularily usually by clipping these areas prior to going to seed, at the expense of the farmer.

ej4prmc, I think you have a personnal beef with someone or some agency and are blanketing this issue on everyone. Last year I offered hay to a rancher in SW ND, he had to turn it down because he couldn't afford the trucking cost, $3.25 a loaded mile. Do the math, that rancher isn't paying $25/bail but more like $40-$50 depending on where it needs to go. So when you say buy my cheap hay, look at the total picture, NOT just your end! Also, how can your hay be so cheap when there has been such a high demand for hay the last two years, as YOU stated in your post? Maybe it didn't sell because people couldn't afford to haul it!

Burly1, you hit it on the head, offer it to those that can prove need! What is better for the taxpayer, offer a renewable resource to those that need it, the hay, or start up another subsidies program that will reimburse farmers for their losses and add more to the tax burden?

Oatsboy, CRP has been harvested for years, there is no presidence being set in ND, get real. Also, where do farmers have all this money to by high quality feed, I would like to know because I sure haven't found my stash yet? Are those subsidy payment you are surviving on driven by taxpayer dollars? Read the paragraph above! Harvest that Goldenrod, dry it and market it to the floral industry, you may be suprised!

Another issue that I am sure hasn't been considered. How many know how mother nature used to regenerate the prairies? Yep, by harvesting it with natural occurring wild fires. When a piece of grass goes untouched for years, it becomes sod bound and its production starts to decrease. By burning or haying or minimual surface "tilling" disturbance it allows the soil to keep producing quality grass. Why do you think golf courses aireate.

I live in Bottineau County, The area that I grew up in (Souris) recieved over 20" of rain in the month of June alone, the town has flooded twice this summer. These storms have brought high winds as well as devastating hail. When I went out to check cattle after our last major storm, the cows were at the gate in belly deep water and calves half way to their backs because the entire pasture was flooded out into the fields and over the roads. I fed hay for 9 days until I found pasture that was available, and not close to home either. Guess what else, the cow/calf grazing cost seemed to mysteryously increase from previous years! But what can you do, but pay it. Oh yeh, as oatsboy said, we can afford it!

I am one of the fortunate ones up here, I have about 1/4 of my hay that I am able to harvest, no hail and on hilly topography so the water ran off. Most of my neighbors and relatives have little or none available to them! Our crop was hailed out at 100%, but hail insurance will compensate some of the loss, this year, but how about the past 10 years when you purchase it but never needed it? We tried to cut some of it for hay, but the grouund it to wet to cut it, you just continually get stuck!

Bob, you said a mouth full, If it is needed, use it, BUT do not profit from it amd leave it be if not needed. One thing tho, you will need to go quite a ways out from the effected areas as the CRP hear was hit just like the hay and crop land was, in some places there is no CRP left either or the ground is so wet that you cannot harvest the hay because sun and wind doesn't get to ground level to dry it out!

Here is another one for you guys to ponder. If CRP haying/grazing causes these feeling to come out what about the opening of National Wildlife Refuges to haying and grazing? Why would the NWS destroy so much wildlife habitat by allowing this to be done? Maybe for the same reason they do prescribed burns, get my point?!


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## Burly1 (Sep 20, 2003)

Due to drought conditions, my deer hunting area has been terrible for the past two years. Literally ALL of the CRP was cut for forage. I begrudge no one, who has the genuine need, as did most of those in the SW part of ND, taking any and all available forage in order to keep the farm/ranch going. I do have a beef with those who skirt the letter of the law, in order to profit from another's misfortune. You hear all sorts of stories. I just hope those who regulate the programs are able to weed out the stinkers, and penalize them in an appropriate manner. Glad for the rain in the SW, anyway. Burl


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## mburgess (Aug 11, 2003)

Interesting topic. Opening haying CRP statewide seems a little extreme to me. Haying only a third of a CRP field does seem to bolster growing grass and improve the overall wildlife habitat of the field. This should be an interesting topic to watch over the next couple days.


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## stoeger (Aug 20, 2003)

Great post Trapper 62

I will probably end up having to hay CRP this year. The cattle don't care much for it. I endup supplementing with minerals to satisfy the cattle when feeding CRP.


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## Bob Kellam (Apr 8, 2004)

Trapper, Stoeger.

I really do hope you guys get the feed you need. Is there anything I can do to help??

Bob


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## Dick Monson (Aug 12, 2002)

Sounds like 20 counties. ND has about 53 total.


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