Summer Break Takes Highest Priority for Government Officials
By Jean-Paul McDonald, Farms.com
In what seems to be a cruel joke, officials in the U.S. Senate have packed up and left Washington for their August break - while farmers, ranchers and livestock suffer from the worst drought conditions in decades. Instead of getting help out to those in need, officials decided not to take up an essential disaster relief package that would have helped alleviate the intense toll of the drought on farmers.
What does this mean for farmers? It means that we will need to do all that we can to keep our animals alive and livelihoods intact. It means that we need to rely on our fellow farmers and producers to help each other through the tough times – something we farmers are all too familiar with. We need to recognize that our security is jeopardized by the very people who were voted into office to represent us.
Agriculture generates roughly 16 million jobs across America; and while there is always risk in our sector with nature ultimately being in control, we should be able to count on our Government representatives to do all they can to help us out when times get tough – not go on vacation and hope that the problems will just disappear by the time they get back.
According to a crop report issued by the USDA, about half of the country’s corn crop has been rated as “poor” to “very poor”, the worst condition classification. Today, the overall number of counties included on the list of natural disaster areas in the U.S stands at 1,584, spanning 32 states. But corn is only a fraction of the issues faced by farmers in these harrowing drought conditions. With pasture land reduced to almost zero in many states, livestock producers are already tapping into feed reserves normally used to maintain herds during the winter months, causing a potential feed shortfall in the near future.
With our backs to the wall and an entire nation to feed, we have trouble believing that we would be abandoned in our time of need by the people we trusted to protect us. Send a message to your local Senator and let them know that we’re still here and we’re not happy.