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Congressman Dave Loebsack visits with farmers
Posted: 07.21.2012 at 6:50 PM
Tess Hedrick

Tess Hedrick is a Multimedia Journalist for KTVO.

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Congressman Dave Loebsack met with farmers on Saturday to discuss the drought  / KTVO's Tess Hedrick
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BLOOMFIELD, IOWA -- The drought continues to affect everyone in the Heartland in one way or another and on Saturday Congressman Dave Loebsack met with farmers to discuss and see the effects it is having on their crops and livestock.

With rain nowhere in sight, farmers are calling this one of the worst droughts in Iowa’s history. Congressman Dave Loebsack met with farmers and toured four southern Iowa counties – Appanoose, Davis, Lee and Wayne.

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The congressman said he ready to work alongside these farmers assisting in any way necessary.

“This coming week I’m going to be introducing legislation that would extend a number of the disaster assistance programs that expired in the fall of 2011 and have not been existent. And then we got to do everything we can to push on a bipartisan basis to get this Farm Bill to the floor of the House, get it passed, get it into a conference committee, get it passed before September 30,” said Congressman Loebsack.

And for farmers, their livelihood is dependent upon the weather.

“Oh the drought’s taken a toll on yields and every day it's getting worse and worse. The weather forecast is predicting triple digits next week and that's probably pretty well going to finish off the corn. The beans still have a little potential but the corn is pretty much gone,” said Roger Porter, farmer.

Porter added that his hay pastures are dormant and not producing any grass. And every time a cow takes a bit of grass it’s gone and not being replaced.

“This is really going to take a tremendous toll if we don't do something about this and really help provide a backstop to these farmers,” said Congressman Loebsack.

“We're kind of in a bad situation right now,” said Porter.

 

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