FERRIDAY, La. — It is too soon to tell whether an emergency farm aid bill will benefit Concordia Parish, according to Kevin Case, director of the U.S. Farm Service Agency’s Ferriday office.

&uot;I don’t know too much about it at this point,&uot;&160;said Case, who on Friday was still trying to research basic information about the measure.

&uot;But if we did get something from this, we would probably receive the money this fall.&uot;

The Senate voted Thursday to add to a farm appropriations bill 15 amendments giving $900 million in disaster aid to livestock, fruit and potato farmers, among others, according to the Associated Press.

The $75.3 billion measure that finances food and farm programs for next year, S. 2536, already contains more than $1 billion in emergency aid. The bill passed the Senate 79-13 and now must be reconciled with a House version, H.R. 4461.

&uot;I hope this bill, if it passes, contains some help for our livestock farmers,&uot;&160;Case said.

He explained that drier-than-normal weather in many parts of Concordia Parish has impacted grazing land, which means that farmers will not be able to set aside the normal amount of hay for the winter.

&uot;That means that they will have to buy other types of feed, … and that can cost a lot of money,&uot;&160;Case said.

So far this year, President Clinton has already signed into law farm assistance bills that include $9 million in payments for Concordia Parish farmers.

About 730 parish farmers that plant &uot;program crops&uot;&160;– almost every crop except soybeans — received word in June that they would get $4.5 million this fall to help make up for low prices they receive for their crops.

Those payments should be made in September and will be in addition to $4.5 million in payments parish farmers received earlier in the year.