USDA Declares Disaster Area For New York Counties
April 1, 2014 USDA designated five counties in New York as primary natural disaster areas due to losses caused by a freeze and freezing temperatures that occurred Dec. 1, 2013, during the last few months.
Those counties impacted are Cattaraugus, Cayuga, Chautauqua, Oswego, and Yates.
The natural disaster declaration will apply for all counties contiguous to those five, which include: Allegany, Cortland, Erie, Jefferson, Lewis, Oneida, Onondaga, Ontario, Schuyler, Seneca, Steuben, Tompkins, Wayne, and Wyoming.
Growers in the contiguous counties of Erie, McKean, and Warren in Pennsylvania also qualify for natural disaster assistance.
“Our hearts go out to those New York farmers and ranchers affected by recent natural disasters,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. “President Obama and I are committed to ensuring that agriculture remains a bright spot in our nation’s economy by sustaining the successes of America’s farmers, ranchers, and rural communities through these difficult times. We’re also telling New York producers that USDA stands with you and your communities when severe weather and natural disasters threaten to disrupt your livelihood.”
In a news release, Senator Charles E. Schumer’s office said that researchers at Cornell university are finding damaged grape buds from the extreme cold, and are suspecting that more than 50% of buds are damaged and vine damage is also anticipated.
“After Upstate New York weathered a long, brutal winter of record-low temperatures, the federal government heeded my call to not leave our farmers and growers out in the cold when they granted 19 counties access to disaster funding. I visited many of these counties and saw the damage the freeze caused to orchards and vineyards firsthand,” says Schumer. “So thankfully, this disaster declaration means our Upstate farmers and growers will have access to critical emergency loans and more, at a time when they need it the most.”
The counties were designated natural disaster areas on March 26, 2014, making all qualified farm operators in the designated areas 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.
Additional programs available to assist farmers and ranchers include the Emergency Conservation Program, Federal Crop Insurance, and the Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program. Interested farmers may contact their local USDA Service Centers for further information on eligibility requirements and application procedures for these and other programs. Additional information is also available online at http://disaster.fsa.usda.gov.
Source: USDA and Sen. Charles Sc
humer news releases
Subscribe Today For
