Governor Requests Agriculture Disaster Designation

Governor Jay Nixon has requested that U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack designate 114 counties in Missouri as agricultural disaster areas.  Click to hear KMZU’s Kristie Cross talk to Farm Service Agency loan chief Dan Gieseke:

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

“The governor has requested a secretarial disaster designation for all 114 counties in the state of Missouri,”said Gieseke,”Basically, it’s a result of a process where the Farm Service Agency reviews the situation and makes the determination that there’s been a potential loss in the crop, hay, or pasture production for that county.  For farmers, it means that they could be eligible to apply for emergency loans should they need that kind of financial help.”

Gieseke  says the dry spell we are currently seeing is being compared to the drought year of 1988 which saw the century’s lowest annual precipitation for Missouri.

 Press Release:

Governor Jay Nixon today requested that U.S. Secretary of Agricultre Tom Vilsack designate 114 counties in Missouri as primary agricultural disaster areas.  The designation would permit assistance from the USDA’s Farm Service Agency to farmers in those counties that have suffered losses to crops and livestock as a result of the ongoing drought throughout the state.

On June 25, Governor Nixon requested that the Farm Service Agency assess agricultural damage across the state due to the ongoing extremely dry conditions.  The assessment found that 114 Missouri counties meet the disaster threshold of having losses of at least 30 percent of the estimated yield of a single crop or where individual farmers suffer production losses of more than 30 percent.

“Agriculture is the backbone of Missouri’s economy, and our farmers are facing extremely difficult conditions because of record heat and low precipitations,”Governor Nixon said.  “Our farmers and producers need additional support to help them through these challenges, including the financial assistance that becomes available if this request is granted by Secretary Vilsack.”

A disaster designation would allow eligible farmers to be considered for assistance from the USDA’s Farm Service Agency, including FSA emergency loans.

For more information about the Governor’s request and response to extremely dry conditions throughout the state, visit mo.gov.