The Kansas Department of Agriculture urges farmers and ranchers to immediately meet with their crop insurance appraisers to determine the best management route for drought-damaged crops.

WIBW, a Topeka-based news station, reports, “The Topeka regional office for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Risk Management Agency (RMA) has issued updated information for agricultural producers whose crops have been damaged by the drought, which has impacted agricultural production in all 105 Kansas counties.”

Kansas Secretary of Agriculture Dale Rodman said the department is continuing to work with state and federal partners to ensure farmers and ranchers are able to cope with the drought.

“As I travel across the state and see firsthand the impacts of the drought and hear from farmers and ranchers about the challenges they are facing, it is clear this drought is having significant, devastating impacts on Kansas agriculture,” Rodman said. 

“In the past, crop insurance rules on drought-damaged crops have been confusing for producers. Rather than dealing with unclear, bureaucratic red tape, farmers and ranchers need to spend their time caring for their crops and livestock.”

The RMA’s updated information outlines steps for producers to take when planning to put their spring-planted crops to another use, “including diverting or shutting off irrigation.”

The area extension or a local USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service office can make recommendations for each specified area.

This article posted July 19, 2012.