Senators John Hoeven of North Dakota and Jon Tester of Montana have introduced legislation to improve livestock disaster assistance. North Dakota Stockmen’s Association Executive Vice President Julie Ellingson says her group supports the measure and appreciates the efforts of the Senators to help producers out who have been suffering from this year’s drought.

She says it’s helpful that the Hoeven-Tester bill aligns coverage between the livestock forage and Emergency Livestock Assistance Programs. It also increases aid under LFP and compensates producers more accurately for feed and water.

Ellingson says one of the fixes Congress should look at for future disaster legislation is to allow quicker release of CRP acres for haying and grazing. She says their request for that this year was denied.

Ellingson is hopeful the legislation will be passed since Hoeven and Tester both serve on the Senate’s Appropriations Sub Committee with Hoeven the ranking member on that panel.