Letter to Tom Vilsack, Secretary of Agriculture

Letter

Today, U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer called on the U.S. Department of Agriculture to prepare to grant an anticipated request for emergency assistance for fruit farmers across New York who suffered damage in recent freezes, which followed suddenly after an unseasonably warm winter. As damage assessments continue throughout the state, Schumer, in a personal letter, urged Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack to put resources in place to assist farmers who lost crops during the freezes. An emergency declaration for counties with severe crop damage would make farmers in those counties eligible for emergency disaster loans to mitigate the cash flow problems that occur after crops are lost due to inclement weather. Due to the damage to farms across the state, Schumer is urging the USDA to prepare to immediately grant the state's anticipated request for an emergency declaration to make aid available to impacted farmers as soon as possible.

"The recent freezes came out of the blue -- after a very warm winter -- and severely impacted many fruit farmers across New York," said Schumer. "I strongly urge the USDA not to leave these farmers out in the cold, and instead to lend a helping hand to those who were hammered by crop-damaging early frosts. Our grape, cherry, and apple farmers, who suffered during this yo-yo weather, deserve emergency loans to help them through the rough season ahead."

If a county is declared a disaster area by the Secretary of Agriculture, after a request from the state, agricultural producers in that county become eligible for emergency disaster (EM) loans available through USDA's Farm Service Agency. Producers in counties that are contiguous to a county with a disaster designation also become eligible for an EM loan. A qualified applicant can then borrow up to 100% of actual production or physical losses as up to $500,000. Once a county is declared eligible, an individual producer within the county must also meet the following requirements:

· Be a family farmer and a citizen or permanent resident of the U.S.

· Experience a crop loss of more than 30% or a physical loss of livestock, livestock products, real estate, or property

· Be unable to obtain credit from a commercial lender, but still show the capacity to repay the loan

Applications must be received within eight months of the county's disaster designation date. The full extent of the damage is still being compiled, but Schumer us urging the USDA to prepare to grant the request so that the delivery of emergency loans is not delayed. According to local USDA officials, the following counties have experienced 30% damage to at least one crop to trigger a designation: Albany, Allegany, Cattaraugus, Columbia, Dutchess, Greene, Monroe, Niagara, Ontario, Orange, Orleans, Schoharie, Schuyler, Seneca, Ulster, Wayne, Wyoming and Yates. In addition, data is being gathered to determine if the following counties will also be eligible for emergency assistance: Broome, Cayuga, Chautauqua, Clinton, Erie, Essex, Fulton, Madison, Montgomery, Onondaga, Rockland, Oswego, Rensselaer, Saratoga, Tompkins and Washington

A copy of Schumer's letter to the Secretary of Agriculture appears below:

United States Department of Agriculture

1400 Independence Ave., S.W.

Washington, DC 20250

Dear Secretary Vilsack,

I write to ask that the United States Department of Agriculture favorably approves a forthcoming request for a disaster declaration for counties in Upstate New York affected by recent bad weather. This request will provide urgently needed aid to the farmers who were significantly impacted by bad weather including unseasonable frost and freezes.

Our farmers who suffered the brunt of this brutal weather cannot afford to wait on this critically-needed declaration. Farmers are the backbone of our economy and when bad weather strikes the whole state feels the impact of the damage. This assistance is essential for farmers to recover and stay viable for years to come. Upstate New York's apple, grape and fruit industry provides a livelihood for many and enriches not only the lives of those people living in the area, but many across the state. The critical part that these farms play in the region's economy simply cannot be stressed enough.

In closing, I urge that you approve a request for a disaster declaration once it's made for Upstate counties impacted by bad weather in order to provide critically needed assistance to the hard-working farmers across Upstate New York who were stuck by this recent spate of bad weather.

Source