Dodge City Daily Globe
Vincent Marshall

Press releases from US Senator Pat Roberts and Jerry Moran were sent Tuesday announcing the US Department of Agriculture has designated aid towards farms and ranchers who were struck by the wildfires on March 6 in the amount of $6 million.

Relief will be given to Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas.

“I am pleased USDA has acted swiftly to aid producers recovering from the largest wildfire in state history,” said Roberts. “For many Kansans, the impacts are devastating because the fires not only consumed livestock, grazing lands, and fencing – but in some cases, homes, machinery and equipment too.”

Roberts recently visited Ford and Clark counties that were affected by the wildfires that claimed more than 700,000 acres of land as well as homes and livestock.

Last week, Moran had met with Acting USDA Secretary Michael Young to discuss the challenges farmers and ranchers impacted by the wildfires face.

“The availability of USDA conservation funds targeted toward restoring land impacted by the fires is appreciated,” said Moran. “I have asked USDA to provide maximum flexibility in administering the federal assistance programs in response to the disaster, and will continue to make clear the urgent need for more immediate assistance to those impacted.”

The USDA will deliver the $6 million in funding through the Environmental Quality Incentives Program.

The program will be geared towards assisting farmers and ranchers as they attempt to rehabilitate devastated landscapes, restore grazing lands, protect damaged watersheds and rebuild fencing.

Applications will begin being accepted in the near future.

For those interested, there will be step-by-step assistance found at www.nrcs.usda.gov/getstarted.

For producers that wish to apply for the EQIP funding, a program application must be completed along with established farm records and other eligibility support documentation.

“We are still learning lessons from the response to the Anderson Creek fires from last year that can be applied to this response and recovery effort,” Roberts said.

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