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| Midwest growers gear up for possible crop loss this year |
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Dry conditions over much of the eastern Corn Belt have many farmers wondering if their crops will amount to much at harvest.
Some climatologists have indicated that 2007 is the dry year in a recurring 19-year drought cycle that stretches back over 100 years.
If that drought cycle proves accurate, 2007 could mirror the weather conditions experienced in 1988. For many producers in the Midwest 1988 conjures up some painful memories of disastrous crops. In the face of this adverse weather forecast we will hope for the best and prepare to deal with whatever nature has in store.
Disaster strikes somewhere in United States virtually every year. For this reason, the House Ag Committee Chairman Collin Peterson (D-Minn.), and some like-minded members of Congress are proposing a permanent disaster program that would not require special legislation when various agricultural disasters occur. Making disaster assistance a standard program would require additional funding that would need to be offset by cost savings elsewhere in the budget. Cost savings in an economic environment where dollars are scarce is very difficult. The current fiscal constraints create serious doubts as to whether a permanent disaster program will come to fruition in the next farm bill.
Recent supplemental agricultural assistance was appropriated under the Troop Readiness, Veterans’ Care, Katrina Recovery, and Iraq Accountability Appropriations Act of 2007. It becomes apparent that the bundling of supplemental appropriations has become the protocol currently employed to fund needs as they occur.
Within the recent supplemental appropriations signed into law by the President, approximately $3 billion has been approved for agricultural disasters that occurred during 2005, 2006, or early 2007. Eligible producers will be able to apply for disaster assistance at their local Farm Service Agency (FSA) office later this fall when the program rollout is announced. FSA hopes farmers and ranchers witness improving weather this summer, and reminds everyone that USDA agencies remain prepared to help agricultural producers in times of need.
This farm news was published in the July 11, 2007 issue of Farm World, serving Indiana, Ohio, Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan and Tennessee. |
| 7/11/2007 |
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