The money was provided to the state through the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Livestock Assistance Grant Program (LAGP) to distribute directly to livestock producers whose forage was adversely impacted by the 2006 drought.

“We have worked with USDA to provide this assistance,” Hoeven said. “We recognize that the money does not go far enough in helping ranchers recover from the extremely tough conditions which they experienced this past summer.

This drought is severe enough to warrant comprehensive federal drought legislation for our farmers and ranchers. We are continuing our effort to convince Congress to pass disaster legislation to give farmers and ranchers the assistance they need to help maintain their operations.” Cattle, dairy, sheep, and bison producers located in one of the 27 North Dakota counties that were in the D3 (extreme) or D4 (exceptional) category on the US Drought Monitor sometime during the summer of 2006, were eligible for share of the $1,807,850.

Livestock producers submitted applications for the funds through the state web site earlier this year. The amounts of the grants were based on the number of head of livestock and on the location of the farm or ranch headquarters. Per head payments ranged up to $9.79 depending upon the severity of the drought in the operator's county.

Source: Farm & Ranch Guide