WASHINGTON — Today, U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., along with Sens. John Thune, R-S.D., Heidi Heitkamp, D-N.D., and a bipartisan group of senators, called on U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack to expedite implementation of the livestock disaster programs reauthorized in the 2014 Farm Bill.

A letter to Vilsack said, “In 2012, U.S. grazing livestock producers experienced the most devastating loss of pasture, rangeland and forage in decades due to the widespread drought, which resulted in more than 80 percent of all U.S. counties determined as ‘abnormally’ to ‘exceptionally’ dry by the U.S. Drought Monitor. By August 2012, you had designated more than 1,400 counties in 33 states as disaster counties due to drought … Due to the magnitude of pasture, forage and livestock losses and the urgent need for financial assistance these losses have created, we strongly urge you to place implementation of 2014 Farm Bill livestock disaster programs as a top priority.”