Drought Disaster Declared in South Dakota

RAPID CITY, S.D. -- The federal drought disaster declaration announced Wednesday for 30 South Dakota counties was welcome news to Fall River County rancher Mark Tubbs.

"That will help," Tubbs said of a provision that will allow taxable income deferral for ranchers who are being forced by drought to sell off their foundation cow herds.

Tubbs said drought has devastated the southwest part of the state, including Fall River County, southern Custer County and Shannon County.

Rains this summer in western South Dakota have missed those areas, he said.

"It's just total devastation down here, with grasshoppers, no rain and prairie dogs running all over hell," Tubbs said.

Oelrichs, Hot Springs and Custer all are running 60 percent below normal precipitation for the year so far.

Many southwest area ranchers have sold calves early, others have sold some of their foundation cow herds and others have sold their entire herds, according to Brian Malde, Fall River County executive director for the Farm Service Agency.

Those sales have resulted in cash windfalls for the ranchers, but the short-term gain will hurt in the long run because with smaller herds, the ranchers' calf crops will be smaller in ensuing years.

The disaster declaration by U.S. Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman will allow ranchers forced to sell herds to take a deferral on the extra income for income-tax purposes, Malde said.

The declaration also will allow for low-interest emergency loans, but Malde said few producers in his area are interested in borrowing even more money in the middle of a drought.

The primary drought disaster counties declared by Veneman are Bennett, Brule, Buffalo, Butte, Campbell, Corson, Custer, Dewey, Fall River, Gregory, Haakon, Hand, Harding, Hughes, Hyde, Jackson, Jones, Lawrence, Lyman, Meade, Mellette, Pennington, Perkins, Shannon, Stanley, Sully, Todd, Trip, Walworth and Ziebach.

The ag secretary also named Aurora, Beadle, Charles Mix, Edmunds, Faulk, Jerauld, McPherson, Potter and Spink counties as contiguous disaster area counties.

Gov. Mike Rounds had requested the disaster declaration because of losses caused by drought, a late-spring killing frost, high winds, hail, severe storms and insect infestations, according to a news release Wednesday from the governor's office.

"These counties have reported water shortages and alfalfa crop, pasture and hay losses, which has forced farmers and ranchers to sell cattle and sheep herds due to lack of feed and quality water," Rounds said in the release.

Malde said although some area farmers have gotten an average wheat crop this summer, most have raised little or no hay.

He said some producers are able to get federal disaster assistance payments for hay or pasture land devastated by drought.

Another program, which helps pay for getting water to livestock, doesn't have enough funds for all the requests, Malde said. "We just can't keep up."

Sen. Tom Daschle, D-S.D., hailed Veneman's drought disaster declaration but said the government needs to provide more cash assistance to farmers and ranchers who have suffered from repeated drought. Daschle said he has visited other areas of the state that also have been hurt by drought. "I hope additional counties will be approved, and that they will be approved much more quickly than these counties have been," he said.

Tubbs, who ranches along the Cheyenne River northwest of Edgemont, said both Daschle and John Thune, Daschle's challenger in the November election, understand the drought situation. "It's devastating down in this country," he said. Thune visited Tubbs' ranch last week.

Tubbs said he has sold some animals early but is trying to hang onto his cow herd for now by spreading them out onto rented pasture land elsewhere. "We'll have to get rid of a bunch this winter," he said. "We have no grass to winter them on and no feed around here."

He said some ranchers in his area are grazing their winter pastures this summer. Others have no grass at all and have been feeding their cattle hay, which is normally reserved for the winter.

"We're trying to figure out Plan B," Tubbs said. "Plan A is out the door."