By TIM THORNBERRY
Kentucky Correspondent

FRANKFORT, Ky. — A little good news came to Bluegrass State farmers last week in the wake of two years of drought and hurricane force winds late this summer.

In a statement from the Capitol, Gov. Steve Beshear announced that he had received word from the USDA that farmers in all 120 counties in Kentucky were made eligible for emergency loans due to the harsh weather.

Beshear made the request on Sept. 19 citing the dry conditions as the cause for assistance only to later amend the request to cover the additional damage caused by leftover winds from Hurricane Ike. That storm affected much of the state, flattening crops and damaging many orchards.

“I am pleased that U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Ed Schafer recognized the financial hardships our farmers are facing following two consecutive years of drought and compounded by the disastrous winds experienced this Septem-ber,” said Beshear. “This disaster aid will help lessen the impact on our farm families and rural communities.”

Kentucky Ag Commissioner Richie Farmer echoed those sentiments and reiterated the value of agriculture in the state.

“This disaster aid will help reduce the financial impact of the bad weather on Kentucky’s farm families,” Commis-sioner Farmer said. “Kentucky farmers get more than $4 billion a year in cash receipts for their products, and they produce the food and fiber we all depend on. So it’s important to help them stay on their feet until conditions improve.”

Weather conditions have been major headaches for farmers in this state and surrounding areas over the last two years starting with a devastating Easter freeze in 2007 that disrupted fruit production from Michigan to Georgia only to be followed by one of the driest summers on record. This year, after a promising start, dry conditions returned followed by Ike.

The statement from Beshear went on to say, “The USDA reviewed the Damage Assessment Reports and other related information for all 120 counties and determined that all counties sustained sufficient production losses to warrant a Secretarial disaster designation.

According to information from the USDA, “all qualified farm operators in the designated areas (are) eligible for low interest emergency (EM) loans from USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA), provided eligibility requirements are met. Farmers in eligible counties have eight months from the date of the declaration to apply for loans to help cover part of their actual losses. FSA will consider each loan application on its own merits, taking into account the extent of losses, security available and repayment ability. FSA has a variety of programs, in addition to the EM loan program, to help eligible farmers recover from adversity.” The declaration was made Oct. 31.

A similar disaster declaration was made on Nov. 4 by the USDA concerning 40 counties in neighboring Tennessee also due to drought and high wind damage.

For more information on drought assistance, farmers can visit their local USDA/Farm Service Agency office or visit the USDA’s website at www.usda.gov or www.fsa.usda.gov

Kentucky producers may call their state FSA office at 859-224-7601.