The Colorado Farm Bureau (CFB) wrote a letter to the USDA requesting changes to the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) Emergency Haying and Grazing program.
The organization thanked USDA for the emergency declarations and activating the program, “However, the arbitrary requirement that producers remove livestock 30 days prior to the first frost date to allow for a rest period is concerning.”
At the time of writing, Colorado’s first frost was expected to be Oct. 15, but inclement weather brought it early Sept. 8. This policy change gave little warning to producers.
“For producers who do not yet have livestock moved onto CRP acres, the new provision effectively blocks them from taking advantage of emergency grazing resources for an additional 30 days.” CFB called the requirement “problematic and arbitrary in nature” and requested modification to the program to prevent the issue from occurring again in future droughts.
