"The assistance announced today will help U.S. livestock producers dealing with climbing feed prices, critical shortages of hay and deteriorating pasturelands," USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack said. "Responding to my request, crop insurance companies indicated that producers can forgo interest penalties to help our nation's farm families struggling with cash flow challenges."

The drought gripping much of the U.S. has pushed up the prices of corn and soybeans, key staples in the diet of livestock. Cattle ranchers also feed their animals hay and allow them to graze, but drought conditions have scorched many fields that could ordinarily sustain the herds.

In response, the USDA is opening up fields that have been placed in the government's land-idling Conservation Reserve Program and are traditionally closed to haying and grazing to preserve environmentally sensitive land.

"Many of these additional acres have wetland-related characteristics and are likely to contain better quality hay and forage than on other CRP acres," the USDA said in a statement released Wednesday.

Write to Bill Tomson at bill.tomson@dowjones.com

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 01, 2012 12:38 ET (16:38 GMT)