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States petitioning feds with disaster requests
 

By MICHELE F. MIHALJEVICH
Indiana Correspondent

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — Indiana’s governor has asked USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack to issue disaster declarations for 53 of the state’s 92 counties because of excessive rain and flooding.
If the request is approved, farmers with losses in those counties would be eligible for low-interest emergency loans. Producers in counties next to those designated as disaster areas would also be able to secure loans. Gov. Mike Pence’s letter to Vilsack is dated July 28.
Crop losses are spread over the state, said Julia A. Wickard, Indiana state executive director for the USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA). “It first began in the northern tier of the state, but then we saw tremendous rains in southern Indiana,” she noted. “I can’t believe some of the damage I’ve seen.”
Fifty of the counties included in the request have losses that have met or exceeded 30 percent of a crop, Wickard said. Three counties had significant damage to multiple crops. A loss of at least 30 percent on a specific crop in a county is required for a disaster declaration.
“Recent and unprecedented heavy rainfall across our state has had a significant impact on the yield of Indiana crops and our Hoosier farmers,” Pence said. “As promised, our administration has been closely monitoring this situation and, in coordination with the Indiana Farm Service Agency, has determined federal emergency loan assistance is both prudent and warranted.”
Corn and soybean losses in Indiana could reach $475 million, Purdue University extension agricultural economist Chris Hurt said in late June. About $300 million of that would be in corn, and $175 million in soybeans.
Other crops impacted by excessive rain in the state include alfalfa, grasses, peas and pumpkins, Wickard said. Farmers are encouraged to continue to report crop losses to their local FSA offices. State officials hope to hear from Vilsack in the next week or so regarding the request, she said.
“Producers persevere,” she explained. “Every year, farmers are at the whim of the weather and Mother Nature. They prepare a crop, they harvest a crop. It makes me proud to work in this industry. It’s important that we think about what they do year-round.”
Surrounding states’ woes

Indiana isn’t the only state in this region to submit a disaster request to Vilsack. Last month, Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner requested disaster declarations for counties in his state. FSA officials declined to say how many counties were included in the request, or announce potential crop losses.
“Until we get the disaster designation declaration, I hesitate to tell anyone for sure what the approved counties will be,” said Doug Bailey, chief program specialist for the Illinois FSA. “Illinois has suffered crop losses due to excessive rainfall and flooding. Since the potential crop losses are estimates, that information is not to be released.”
Officials in Michigan and Ohio are in the process of determining which counties might be eligible for a disaster declaration. Farmers in the southeastern part of Michigan’s Lower Peninsula have seen excessive rain, said Christine White, state executive director for FSA.
“We’re currently reviewing crops that have been damaged to see if that damage meets the levels required to request a disaster declaration,” she explained.
In Ohio, officials hope to determine by next week which counties may be eligible for a disaster declaration, said Steve D. Maurer, FSA state executive director. The agency is working to get damage reports from county offices.
“It’s common knowledge that after the constant rain in the spring and summer, things have been damaged,” he said. “We know there’s damage; we don’t know the extent of it yet. From everything I’ve seen and heard, northwest Ohio has been hit hard. It’s also our most productive area.”
Iowa’s crop losses aren’t enough to apply for disaster declarations, said Dustin Vande Hoef, communications director for the state’s Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship. The same is true in Kentucky, said Bob Finch, executive officer of the state’s FSA office.
Three counties in northwestern Tennessee were affected by flooding along the Mississippi, but the damage was below the 30 percent threshold required to submit a disaster declaration request, said Rodger Tanner, District 4 director for the state FSA. The primary crop in the three counties – Dyer, Lake and Lauderdale – is soybeans, he said.
Dyer County had about 30,000 acres underwater, with about 15,000 of that cropland, he said. The estimated value of the lost crops is about $5.9 million. About 22,000 acres in Lake County were flooded, with about 6,900 in crops. The estimated loss of crop value is $2.8 million.
Lauderdale County had about 40,000 acres underwater, with 25,000 of that in row crops. The crop loss value is estimated at nearly $11 million.
8/6/2015