"A declaration from the state would open up some
emergency loans for the producers."
- Lloyd Keller
Montana's farmers and ranchers suffered losses from drought and
wildfires this summer. And then autumn brought a new disaster - frozen
crops.
The Richland County Commissioners decided Monday at an emergency board
meeting to petition Governor Marc Racicot's office for a disaster
declaration due to crop damage from the four-day freeze Oct. 4-7.
"A declaration from the state would open up some emergency loans
for the producers," said Richland County Farm Service Agency Director
Lloyd Keller. "To get the declaration, the County Commission usually
has to petition for it." The commissioners consulted with Keller
before making the decision to draft a petition.
In addition to emergency loans, producers are awaiting the signature of
President Clinton on a $3.5 billion disaster relief bill. If signed into
law, the bill would release $1.6 billion for crop losses and damage.
"My understanding is that sugarbeet producers might qualify for
some disaster payments under that bill," said Keller. A disaster
declaration from the state may also open the door to affected small
businesses to apply for low-interest SBA loans.
Richland County Commission Chair Henry Johnson said he and other
commissioners were talking with other area counties to coordinate
petitions. "We're going to send them copies of our petition in the
hopes that they will draft one too," Johnson said. The Custer County
Commissioners reportedly sent a petition to the governor last week.
The unusual cold snap caught sugarbeet producers off guard only four
days into full harvest. More than 60 percent of the beet crop, about
27,000 acres, was frozen in the fields. Keller said as much as 20 percent
of the area potato crop was still in the ground. Other crops were also
damaged in the freeze including pumpkins, cantaloupe and other fruits and
vegetables.
U.S. Senator Max Baucus said in a Friday press release that the overall
loss to area counties was moderately estimated at $12 million for the beet
producers and more than $50 million for the communities that rely on the
sugarbeet industry.
"Montana's agriculture industry just can't afford another hit like
this," Baucus said. "We need to optimize our options through the
federal crop insurance program to help producers who are facing incredible
losses."
Baucus urged the U.S. Department of Agriculture to recognize the beet
crop as a total loss, making Montana farmers eligible for the maximum
coverage under their federal crop insurance plans.
"We would ask that you take every action possible under the
existing terms and conditions of these producers' federal crop contracts
to help mitigate the impact of this crisis," Baucus wrote in an Oct.
13 letter to Kenneth Ackerman of the USDA Risk Management Agency.
"Time is of the essence. The ripple effect could be devastating to
our sugarbeet counties if we don't act immediately."
The counties affected by the freeze include Sheridan, Roosevelt,
Richland, Dawson, Prairie and Custer in Montana along with McKenzie and
Williams in North Dakota.
"Nearly half of the 45,000 sugarbeet acres contracted by Holly
Sugar experienced severe to extreme frost," Baucus wrote.
According to Don Steinbeisser, president of the Montana-Dakota Beet
Growers Association, for the frozen beets to heal, the valley will need
warm, dry weather for the remainder of harvest. Another frost would be
devastating.
"We need to approach this optimistically. We can't panic,"
Steinbeisser said.
In September, USDA Secretary Dan Glickman declared all counties in
Montana an agricultural disaster area from the summer's drought, extreme
heat and fire. A handful of counties in western North Dakota were also
included in that declaration. |