During the COVID-19 pandemic, we have heard about the losses that livestock producers have been facing. Funding from USDA?s CFAP program only covered market losses. It did nothing to help with the costs of euthanizing animals which had to be destroyed. USDA has had no authority to reimburse farmers for lost livestock unless there was an animal disease. The costs for producers have been mounting as prices struggle to maintain some upward movement.
Some Senators have come together and sponsored a bill aimed at helping these producers.
Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley says he is joining with fellow Iowa Senator Joni Ernst and Senator Jim Inhofe (R-OK) to sponsor a bill aimed at reimbursing the livestock producers that have had to depopulate animals. This bill is called the RELIEF for Producers Act.
Grassley commends producers who have done all they can to avoid depopulating animals. However, even with these efforts, over a million animals have been depopulated so far, with at least that many waiting in backlog.
Right now, Congress is on break for the Independence Day Holiday, but Grassley says he is going to push to get this bill passed before August?s recess.
Text of the RELIEF for Producers Act can be found here.
