Congressman Henry Cuellar Announces Block Grants For Producers Of Livestock

CONGRESSMAN HENRY CUELLAR ANNOUNCES BLOCK GRANTS FOR PRODUCERS OF LIVESTOCK

Washington, DC- Congressman Henry Cuellar announced today Block Grants for producers of livestock who suffered forage production losses due to the drought. These funds are made available through the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Farm Service Agency's Livestock Assistance Grant Program.

The Livestock Assistance Grant Program will provide a portion of $50 million to each state to assist producers of livestock who suffered forage production losses due to the drought. The State of Texas will receive a portion based on the number of adult beef cattle and sheep in eligible counties as determined by USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service.

The funds allow producers of livestock who suffered forage production losses due to the drought in the counties of Atascosa, Bexar, Comal, Frio, Guadalupe, Hays, LaSalle, McMullen, Webb, Wilson, Zapata to obtain assistance for such things as the cost of lost forage, supplemental feeding, the cost of relocating livestock to new feed supplies, increased feed transportation cost and the cost of emergency water supplies.

"Texas producers of livestock and their families have been severely affected by the drought. The counties of the 28th District have been designated by USDA as experiencing an exceptional or extreme drought, making our district one of the hardest hit in the state and across the country. This program will temper some of the effects and I encourage all eligible livestock producers to take advantage of these funds," said Congressman Cuellar. "I will continue to work for the agriculture community at the federal level through the Agriculture Committee, of which I am a member"

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http://www.house.gov/list/press/tx28_cuellar/060901a.html