Crawford visits Piggot as part of farm tour
First District Congressman Rick Crawford’s summer farm tour made a stop in Piggott Wednesday, Aug. 22, to meet with livestock producers concerning recent drought conditions. The breakfast meeting at The Piggott Diner also afforded Crawford a chance to update local producers on the two versions of the Farm Bill currently being considered.
With around 25 producers and local leaders in attendance, Crawford first spoke about the drought of 2012 and available relief programs. He noted that the State of Arkansas, USDA and even the IRS have programs that offer help to producers in the drought-stricken areas such as Northeast Arkansas.
Crawford offered literature on specific programs, and was accompanied by Marty Conley of the Clay County Farm Services Agency office for details on the local efforts. He also fielded questions from livestock producers on programs that are already past deadline or no longer available.
The Congressman also took time to answer questions, and talked about the message he brought to the local gathering. “Our message today is not so much that I’m delivering, but that I’m listening to what producers have to say–that’s the number one thing,” he explained. “The second thing is that we make sure that what assets are available, especially for livestock producers, that they are aware of it.”
Crawford added that it was a great advantage to have Conley on hand from the local FSA office, “there are a lot of questions that people have–there are a lot of programs that have been authorized to try to provide some help during this time of extreme drought,” he noted.
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