BISMARCK, N.D. – The federal government has denied a request by North Dakota leaders to allow ranchers struggling with drought to hay idled grassland while it’s still of good quality.
The state Agriculture Department says it is looking into the reasons why. The federal government is allowing limited emergency grazing of Conservation Reserve Program land, which typically is idled under a government program that pays farmers to protect erodible land and create wildlife habitat.
North Dakota ranchers all summer have been seeking federal government permission to also hay that land.
