BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) - Flooded Devils Lake farmers would be compensated under a compromise version of the Senate and House farm bills.
Under the bill that still needs approval by the House and Senate, Devils Lake farmers who have lost land to the lake’s rising waters would be compensated under a buyout program.
Devils Lake has swallowed more than 160,000 of acres of farm and pasture land since a wet cycle began in the early 1990s and caused the lake to quadruple in size.
Eric Aasmundstad (AHZ’-mund-stahd) raises grain in the area and has lost more than 2,000 acres to the lake’s rising waters. He says most farmers in the area would rather see excess lake water drained than be compensated for lost land.
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