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8 CapitalPress.com March 17, 2017 Idaho governor requests federal disaster declarations Farm By JOHN O’CONNELL Capital Press BOISE — Gov. Butch Ot- ter has sent a letter to USDA asking the federal agency to issue a disaster declaration for 10 Idaho counties to help food producers impacted by recent flooding. Otter’s letter requests declarations for Ada, Bound- ary, Canyon, Cassia, Custer, Jerome, Minidoka, Payette, Twin Falls and Washington counties. Adjacent counties would also become eligible for emergency federal loans and services made possible by a disaster declaration signed by the secretary of agricul- ture. At the height of the flood- ing a few weeks ago, Ot- ter and Oregon Gov. Kate Brown flew over flooded farms, ranches and dairies in Southern Idaho and Eastern Oregon. Otter asked USDA’s Farm Service Agency to be prepared to inform area food producers about federal disas- ter programs to help them re- cover from the damage. “Our tour confirmed the need for the State of Idaho to help our local communities dig out and bail out from our worst winter storms since the mid-1980s,” Otter wrote. Aaron Johnson, acting ex- ecutive director of the Idaho Courtesy of Ryan Cranney Oakley, Idaho, grower Ryan Cranney’s field is covered by standing water. Gov. Butch Otter has asked USDA to issue federal disaster declarations for 10 Idaho counties due to flooding. Farm Service Agency, said no estimates of the extent of the damage have been made, and producers’ requests for help have yet to come in. Johnson said producers understand snowpack remains in the mountains and more flooding may be coming, with warmer weather in the forecast. “They are waiting to make a determination of how bad the total damage is going to be,” Johnson said. Before flood waters re- ceded, Idaho Dairymen’s Association Executive Direc- tor Bob Naerebout said his organization commissioned a plane and videographer to document the damage in the Magic and Treasure valleys. “It’s important for all of those who suffered losses during the flooding to be able to document them and turn that into the county level so they can document total loss- es,” Naerebout said. From the air, Naerebout saw tarped silage piles cov- ered by water, flooded barns and soggy haystacks. “We saw a lot of large bales of straw and hay to di- vert the water that was com- ing,” he said. Idaho hay analyst Seth Hoyt said the flooding will affect forage supplies, though the extent of the impact is un- known. Hoyt imagines condi- tions will delay early cuttings of alfalfa and wheat for silage by about 30 days. Oakley grower Ryan Cran- ney heads a local flood district that has been promised state aid, and he hopes to also ob- tain federal emergency aid to help cover costs of clearing ice and pumping flood water from canals to protect surrounding property. Cranney may also pursue FSA emergency assistance for his farm and ranch, where standing water has contrib- uted to a doubling of his calf mortality, fall crops were de- stroyed and fields will have to be reworked. Several Idaho counties have also received separate state flooding disaster decla- rations for infrastructure and are pursuing federal declara- tions to help cover road and bridge damage, said Eliza- beth Duncan, a spokeswom- an for the Idaho Office of Emergency Management. Duncan said the state Legislature has authorized $52 million toward infra- structure repairs, which would provide state match- ing funds to leverage federal dollars, pending Otter’s ap- proval. Duncan’s agency is also tasked with forming an expert review panel to allo- cate the funds. 11-2/#4N Service Agency gears up to help flooded Calif. farms By TIM HEARDEN Capital Press DAVIS, Calif. — The USDA is accepting applica- tions from farmers and ranch- ers in Northern and Central California seeking assistance after this winter’s flooding. The Farm Service Agen- cy is making available emer- gency low-interest loans to growers in counties included in President Donald Trump’s Feb. 14 declaration, which stretches through much of the state. The loans are available to a producer who suffered at least a 30 percent loss of a primary crop or loss of income as a re- sult of the disaster, according to the FSA website. County FSA offices are also beginning to help grow- ers access other aid programs that didn’t require the declara- tion, such as a tree replacement program for farms on which standing water damaged a young orchard or vineyard, said Jacque Johnson, the FSA’s acting state executive director. Johnson said she expects some applications for loans and other aid, but much of the damage was minor enough that farmers could address it themselves. “There is a lot of damage, but typically we don’t have hundreds and hundreds of people applying,” she said. “There is damage, but not so much damage that a farmer is not able to address it without assistance from the federal government.” The aid follows a series of heavy winter storms that flooded fields, blew trees over and interfered with the almond blossom. Flood waters soaked artichokes and cauliflower in the Salinas Valley, covered rice and other fields in the middle Sacramento Valley, forced an- imals to higher ground along the Tuolumne and San Joaquin rivers and prompted workers to shore up weak spots in near- ly 1,600 miles of levees in the Central Valley. Among the programs avail- able to growers: • The Emergency Assis- tance for Livestock, Honeybees and Farm-Raised Fish Program (ELAP) provides relief for losses because of feed or wa- ter shortages, disease, adverse weather or other conditions. It covers damaged or destroyed livestock feed that was intend- ed for use by the producer’s eligible livestock, the Califor- nia Cattlemen’s Association advises. The program also covers up to 150 lost grazing days when livestock must be removed be- cause of flooding and beehive losses from a natural disas- ter such as flooding, the CCA notes. • The Non-Insured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP) provides producers who have purchased the coverage with financial assistance for low yields, loss of inventory or prevented planting because of the disaster. • The Livestock Indemnity Program pays eligible produc- ers for livestock deaths that were caused by the disaster. • The Tree Assistance Pro- gram (TAP) helps orchardists and nursery tree growers who lost trees, shrubs and vines be- cause of the disaster. • The Emergency Conser- vation Program (ECP) funds rehabilitation of land damaged by natural disasters, including replacing fences and removing debris. • HayNet is an FSA-sup- ported advertising site allow- ing farmers and ranchers to post “need hay” and “have hay” ads online, the CCA notes. Farmers can also post similar messages relating to grazing land. The site is www. fsa.usda.gov/haynet . Each program has specific deadlines and requirements. Visit www.fsa.usda.gov or call your local Farm Service Agency office for details.
