Fifteen Washington counties designated primary natural disaster areas
Page 22 - Section A • COUNTRY FOLKS GROWER WEST • Month 2009
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Agriculture has designated 15 counties in Washington as primary natural disaster areas due to losses caused by the combined effects of excessive rain, flooding, below normal temperatures, high winds, frosts and freezes that occurred during the period Jan. 1, 2011 through July 31, 2011. Those counties are: Clallam, King, Snohomish, Clark, Kitsap, Stevens, Franklin, Klickitat, Wahkiakum, Island, San Juan, Whatcom, Jefferson, Skagit, and Yakima. “Farmers and ranchers in Washington have suffered production losses to a wide variety of crops as the result of adverse weather conditions that lasted seven months,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. “President Obama and I are committed to using the resources at our disposal to reduce the impact of these disasters on Washington producers and help to get those af-
fected back on their feet.” Farmers and ranchers in the following counties in Washington also qualify for natural disaster assistance because their counties are contiguous. Those counties are: Adams, Ferry, Lincoln, Pierce, Benton, Grant, Mason, Skamania, Chelan, Grays Harbor, Okanogan, Spokane, Columbia, Kittitas, Pacific, Walla Walla, Cowlitz, Lewis, Pend Oreille, and Whitman. Farmers and ranchers in Clatsop, Columbia, Gilliam, Hood River, Morrow, Multnomah, Sherman and Wasco counties in Oregon also qualify for natural disaster assistance because their counties are contiguous. All counties listed above were designated natural disaster areas on Jan. 27, 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. USDA also has made other programs available to assist farmers and ranchers, including the Supplemental Revenue Assistance Program (SURE), which was approved as part of the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008; 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. Vilsack also reminds producers that the department’s authority to operate the five disaster assistance programs authorized by the 2008 Farm Bill expired on Sept. 30, 2011. This includes SURE; the Livestock Indemnity Program (LIP); the Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honey Bees, and Farm-Raised Fish (ELAP); the Livestock Forage Disaster Program (LFP); and the Tree Assistance Program (TAP). Production losses in the counties listed above are covered because the event triggering the loss occurred prior to the expiration of these programs; however, production losses due to disasters occurring after Sept. 30, 2011, are not eligible for disaster program coverage.
Statement from Agriculture Secretary Vilsack on record U.S. farm exports for calendar year 2011 Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack made the following statement regarding data released Feb. 10 showing U.S. farm exports reached a record $136.3 billion in calendar year 2011: “The data released today by USDA represents a record-breaking calendar year for farm exports, demonstrating — once again — that American agriculture remains a bright spot in our nation’s economy. We saw a rise in both the value and volume of U.S. agricultural exports worldwide in 2011, as international sales rose $20.5 billion over the previous record set in calendar year 2010. Total agricultural exports for calendar year 2011 were a robust $136.3 billion. “These figures indicate how demand for the American brand of agriculture continues to soar worldwide, supporting good jobs for Americans across a variety of industries such as transportation, renewable energy, manufacturing, food services, and on-farm employment. During the past three years, the U.S. farm sector has continued to support and create jobs on a consistent basis, strengthening an American economy that’s built to last. Every $1 billion in agricultural exports supports 8,400 American jobs, meaning that U.S. farm exports
helped support more than 1 million U.S. jobs in 2011. “And that gets to the innovation of our American farmers, ranchers and growers. American agriculture continues to apply the latest in technology and achieve a nearly unparalleled level of productivity. In fact, U.S. agriculture is the second-most productive sector of our economy in the past few decades outside of information technology. “Exports of almost all major U.S. commodities rose in calendar year 201l, helping us to reach President Obama’s goal of doubling all U.S. exports by the end of 2014. Grains were the biggest contributor to the overall record, reaching an all-time high of $37.7 billion, a $9.2 billion increase over 2010. Cotton experienced the biggest year -to-year increase,
up 44 percent from 2010, reaching a record $8.5 billion. Dairy and pork exports also set records in 2011, reaching $4.8 billion and $6 billion respectively. “Another success story is U.S. beef exports. Last year, the United States exported an alltime high of $5.4 billion worth of beef and beef products, surpassing the previous record by more than $1.6 billion. The volume of shipments also surpassed the 2003 levels, the last year before a detection of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in Washington State disrupted U.S. trade. The return to pre-2003 levels marks an important milestone in USDA’s steadfast efforts to open and expand international markets. Despite this progress, restrictions continue to constrain exports to many of our key markets and we re-
Follow Us On
main fully committed to breaking down those trade barriers. “There was more good news for U.S. beef exporters when United Arab Emirates (UAE) officials issued a decree on Jan. 24, liberalizing imports of U.S. beef by eliminating age restrictions. The expansion of U.S. beef access to UAE — one of the largest markets for U.S. beef in the Middle East — underscores the tenacity of the Obama Administration to improve our trade relationships, expand export opportunities and strengthen an American economy that’s built to last.” The latest export data is available via the Global Agricultural Trade System at www.fas.usda.gov/data. asp.
TEW W MANUFACTURING G CORP. FRUIT & VEG. CLEANING & SIZING EQUIPMENT QUALITY LATEX & POLY SPONGE DRYING DONUTS TUFF FOAM® PROTECTIVE PADDING BRUSHES - BEARINGS - SIZING CHAINS - SCRUBBER RUBBER STANHAY, TEW JR.™ & TEW MX™ VEGETABLE SEED PLANTERS
CALL FOR MORE INFORMATION: 800-380-5839
www.facebook.com/cfgrower Gett mid-week k updatess and d online classifieds,, pluss linkss to o otherr agriculturall organizations.
TEW MFG. CORP.
585-586-6120
PO BOX 87 PENFIELD, NY 14526
FAX: 585-586-6083 EMAIL: tewmfg@aol.com