State, Federal Leaders Seek Help for Mid-South Growers
December 1, 2009 Dennis Sherer
TimesDaily.com
With crops still in the field and more rain on the way, some farmers are losing hope of a successful harvest this year.
What was expected to be a better-than-normal yield of cotton, corn and soybeans has been damaged by too much rain this fall. With the rainy weather starting to take an economic toll on farmers throughout Alabama, state and federal government officials are seeking financial aid for farmers.
Alabama Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries Ron Sparks is calling on the U.S. Department of Agriculture to begin assessing crop damage on farms throughout the state to determine if federal help will be available.
“We need some help for our farmers, and we need it now,” Sparks said.
Under the current Farm Bill, farmers who suffer loses this year must wait until January 2011 to receive federal aid. Sparks said some farmers whose crops have been damaged by excessive rain cannot wait that long to receive assistance. He said some farmers whose income will fall below expenses this year could be out of business by 2011.
U.S. Sens. Thad Cochran and Roger Wicker, both Republicans from Mississippi, are co-sponsoring legislation to provide assistance to Southern farmers in a more timely manner.
The legislation has drawn the support of Republican and Democratic senators. Alabama has yet to be included in the bill.
Sparks is hopeful the bill can be amended to include Alabama.
“We must make sure Alabama’s farmers are included in anything that happens in Washington,” he said.
U.S. Rep. Parker Griffith, D-Huntsville, said he will support legislation to aid Alabama farmers.
“Whether it is providing easy access to funding or abolishing punitive taxes on our farms, we need to make sure our agricultural community has the tools it needs to remain a major driver of our local economies,” Parker said. “I applaud this move by the Senate and look forward to working with my colleagues in the House to support our farmers just as they have supported North Alabama throughout the years.”
Tim Malone, executive director of the USDA’s Farm Service Agency office in Florence, said the rain caused corn, cotton and soybeans to begin sprouting. When farmers delivered the rain-damaged crops to markets, many received less money for their grains and cotton.
Lawrence County farmer Brian Glenn said he received $1,300 less for a truckload of soybeans he sold this fall than he would if the crop had not been damaged by the rain.
“What should have been about a $10,000 load of beans was an $8,000-and-something load,” he said.
Malone said many north Alabama farmers would meet the criteria of a minimum of 30 percent loss in the value of at least one crop in a county that was used to declare 79 of Mississippi’s 82 counties agricultural disaster areas.
Buddy Adamson, director of the cotton, wheat and feed grains divisions for the Montgomery-based Alabama Farmers Federation, said the crop damage has left many farmers in dire straights.
“It’s going to be the last straw for some of our farmers if they don’t get some quick help,” Adamson said.
Farmers Federation officials are urging state and federal leaders to move quickly in seeking additional aid for Alabama farmers. “We’re certainly in favor of getting some help for our farmers as soon as possible,” Adamson said.
Glenn is not optimistic federal officials will grant a variance in how farm aid is distributed to help Southern farmers this year. “With the way things are in Washington and the shape the federal budget is in, I’m not expecting any additional help for farmers.”
Malone said farmers are still waiting to apply for federal aid to help them cope with losses caused by the 2008 drought. Guidelines for applying for federal aid for the 2008 crop have yet to be finalized.
(Story found in original format here.)
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