Click Here

Easley Requests Federal Disaster Aid for Farmers

N.C. Governor Requests Federal Disaster Aid for Farmers

Drought conditions are so severe, Gov. Mike Easley recently asked for federal disaster aid for farmers.

As of Wednesday, it appeared 90 percent of the state's counties met the criteria for federal help. State farm reports indicated significant losses of corn, soybeans and hay.

North Carolina cattle farmers said the drought could be enough to put some of them out of business. This year's hay crop was devastated. Farmers could quickly run out of feed for their herds.

After 50 years of farming cattle, Chester Smith said he has had some trying times. There are more than 100 head of cattle on his Wayne County farm and as many hungry mouths to feed.

“Been mighty bad this year,” he said.

The drought has devastated hay crops across the state. Farmers were running low on supplies that would have carried them through the winter in better years.

Officials at the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services said 71 of 100 counties reported significant need of hay.

“We are just seeing stuff burn in the field basically now,” said Brian Long, with NCDA. “We have an estimated need of as much as 800,000 bales of hay.”

That is 80 times worse than in the drought of 2002.

To cut back on animals they will have to feed, Smith might have to take his cows to market earlier and get a lower price. He could feed his cattle grain, but that is three times the cost of hay. He projects losses at 30 percent.

“It is a hard deal, I tell you. Some of the boys are going to have to sell out and quit,” he said.

State agricultural leaders said they hope devastated cattle farmers can be helped by devastated crop farmers – bailing dried stalks in their fields to be used as feed for cattle.

“Those who have something to offer, hook them up with those that have a need,” Long said.

Smith said he worries the crop feed will not have enough protein to raise a good herd. State workers said they are working on that problem, and Smith hopes they are right.

The need for hay in Wayne County alone was at 12,000 tons recently. That is four times the amount of hay needed in the whole state during the 2002 drought.

A federal disaster declaration would give farmers the opportunity to apply for low-interest emergency relief loans.



20 Comments


Golo

Welcome to GOLO, where WRAL.com visitors can comment on stories and create profile pages, blogs and photo galleries.

You must be a registered WRAL.com user to use these tools. Click here to register or log in.

View Comments View Comments

Photo Spotlight
0
1
2
3
4
5
[+] more photos | submit your photos
Report It
Send us your news photos, videos, tips and story ideas.
Submit Videos Submit Photos Submit Reports
  1. 2009christmasparade
    Bands, marchers in holiday parade

    Choose your group to watch their performance in the 2009 WRAL-TV Raleigh Christmas Parade.

  2. 2009christmasparade26
    Web only: Complete 2009 WRAL-TV Raleigh Christmas Parade

    Watch the parade in its entirety from the comfort of your computer any time.

  3. taxes
    Search for missing IRS refunds

    The Internal Revenue Service released the names this week of more than 100,000 taxpayers who have not received their 2009 income tax refund.

  4. County Unemployment Rates
    North Carolina unemployment rates

    View an interactive map with county unemployment numbers.

  5. Drought Map
    A year of N.C. Drought Maps

    View a time lapse animation of drought conditions during the last year.

Click Here