U-S Senator John Hoeven wants acting Risk Management Agency Administrator Richard Flournoy to visit North Dakota and assess drought conditions.
Hoeven told U-S Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack that producers will face severe losses if conditions don’t improve. Hoeven said the R-M-A needs to get first-hand knowledge to properly cover losses.
During a town hall with farmers and ranchers in Washburn to discuss the challenges of drought conditions, Gov. Doug Burgum agreed with Hoeven’s request and noted that the previous Ag Secretary Sonny Purdue gave the state a rapid response four years ago.
“When we put in our requests a couple of times for drought relief during the drought in 2017, Sonny Perdue, (who) had been governor of Georgia and had been through droughts, he turned around our requests in under 24 hours,” Burgum said. “That had never happened before from the USDA. So we’ll keep pushing hard.”
Burgum is holding other town halls today (Thu) in Rugby and Medora.
The National Drought Monitor says two-thirds of North Dakota is in extreme or exceptional drought. Grand Forks County is in the severe drought category.
(Photo: Gov. Burgum’s office)
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