WASHINGTON – This past summer’s drought has created a lingering need for more help in some Farm Service Agency offices. Earlier this week, Sen. Heidi Heitkamp asked U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue to deploy supplemental staff members to western North Dakota.

In July, USDA sent extra workers to McHenry, Mountrail, Bowman, Golden Valley, Hettinger, and Stark counties to help process requests from farmers and reduce wait times. Those jump teams were deployed until the end of September when the federal fiscal year ended.

In a statement Friday, Steven Peterson, acting FSA administrator, said FSA continues to provide additional funding to assist North Dakota with disaster-related temporary staffing, overtime, travel and internal jump team support.

Heitkamp noted local FSA offices have been overwhelmed by applications for assistance due to the severe drought and the end of harvest. FSA employees are working hard to meet demand, she said, but understaffed offices have been unable to fill vacant positions and are struggling to handle the volume of applications fast enough for farmers and ranchers who have suffered losses.