By LEANN LITTLE
Farm World Intern-Tennessee

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — During the first week of April, Tennessee experienced frigid temperatures that put quite a strain on the state’s agricultural production.

This unusually cold weather placed heavy damage on wheat, fruit and vegetable crops throughout all 95 counties, putting farmers’ livelihoods in jeopardy. Many Tennessee farmers have previously contracted their harvests and are now facing a devastating financial loss.

Due to widespread effect of the freeze, Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen has requested federal agricultural disaster designation; as of press time, no designation had been made. If USDA does grant it, Tennessee farmers could be eligible for low-interest emergency loans and possibly other forms of financial assistance.

Todd Trew, CED Director for USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) in Hamilton and Rhea counties, is currently visiting area producers to conduct initial damage assessment. These assessments will be documented and used to support the request for disaster designation. He believes that some farmers will not apply for the low-interest disaster loans even if they are offered.

“Many of them are already in debt and just simply do not want to deal with all the paperwork required for this assistance,” he stated.

Instead, Trew said producers would rather receive some type of direct assistance.

During the freeze, Sparta experienced two consecutive nights with a low of 17 degrees. Local farmer Jimmy McCulley expects to have at least 25 percent loss of his strawberry crop.

His 148-sprinkler frost protection system is only effective until the temperature drops below 26 degrees – at that point, the health of his strawberries is no longer protected.

The insurance available for this type of crop is NAP (Non-Assurable Produce), which only provides coverage during catastrophic loss. In order to determine if McCulley will be eligible for any assistance, his crop must be evaluated by an insurance adjuster both at the beginning and end of harvest.

His position on the local FSA board makes him aware of the problems other area producers are experiencing because of the freeze. “One of our local wheat farmers has already contracted out 3,000 bushels of wheat to a company and is now facing a possible 100 percent loss,” he said.

McCulley explained he feels more loans are the last thing devastated producers are looking for, adding, “Farmers need direct assistance rather than loans, because additional debt is not the answer.”

The western part of the state did not experience temperatures quite as cold as those in both middle and eastern Tennessee, with a reported low of 23 degrees. This below-freezing temperature after an early spring warm-up, however, took its toll just the same.
Western Tennessee farmer John Shultz said, “We experienced a minor loss in our wheat crop, which will probably only amount to a maximum of 30 percent. However, I do know other wheat producers in the area who planted earlier and are probably going to lose their whole crop.”

Shultz said low-interest emergency loans would be a helping hand to farmers suffering the blows of this disaster, but insurance companies will also be another source of assistance.

Another industry to be taken into consideration is the leading commodity for cash receipts in Tennessee: Cattle and calves. The negative impact this freeze brings to hay crops and pasture will leave the beef cattle industry in a dilemma.

This was brought up by Dwight Dickson, NRCS district conservationist for Fentress, Scott, and Morgan counties. Most row crops in the area he serves have not come up yet, so the effects on the beef industry are a main concern.

Dickson said, “Most farmers in this area are not going to be interested in borrowing more money. They are more interested in seeing what kind of direct assistance is available. If direct assistance is given, it will probably be based upon statistics such as acres planted and percentage loss.”

Tennessee agriculturalists are grateful for the request for agricultural disaster declaration, but most seem to hold the common opinion that disaster has devastated so many producers across the entire state that low-interest loans may not be enough.
Updates can be found at the Tennessee Department of Agriculture website, at www.state.tn.us/agriculture

This farm news was published in the May 2, 2007 issue of Farm World, serving Indiana, Ohio, Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan and Tennessee.