Easley Seeks Disaster Relief for Farmers

Raleigh, N.C. — Gov. Mike Easley on Friday asked the U.S. Department of Agriculture to declare 85 North Carolina counties disaster areas because of drought-related crop losses.

Most counties statewide are experiencing losses of at least 30 percent of at least one significant crop, according to USDA loss-assessment reports.

Major losses have been reported on corn, cotton, hay, pasture, peanuts, soybeans and tobacco. Many farmers have already exhausted their winter hay supplies and are now looking for other sources of feed for cattle, Easley said in a statement.

“This drought is devastating our farms, which are a significant part of the North Carolina economy,” he said. “Our farmers need our help, and this disaster assistance may make a difference whether some of them can afford to stay in business.”

A disaster declaration would authorize the Farm Service Agency to make low-interest emergency loans to eligible producers. Farmers in counties bordering any county receiving a disaster declaration also would be eligible for disaster aid.

Easley's request covers the entire state except for 15 counties along the coast and in northeast North Carolina.

The hot, dry weather also prompted state officials to declare a Code Orange ozone alert for the Triangle, Triad and Charlotte areas on Friday. Sensitive groups like children, the elderly and people with respiratory problems were urged to limit outdoor activities because of the bad air quality.

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Latest Comments

We don't need to keep farmers from going under.....

Everybody knows food comes a grocery store and clothes come from a department store. : )

butterbean7258
August 25, 2007 2:47 p.m.

Any farmers who employee illegal immigrants are criminals. Why should they be giving anytype of relief

slobnoise
August 24, 2007 9:51 p.m.

Just have farmers sell their land to developers then there will be no need for disaster relief. Oh wait, that could pose a serious problem to our stomachs. ok lets only sell the corn and tobacco land. Oh wait...corn is suppose to be in our cars as ethanol and tobacco helps pay for medical treatments. shoot...lets just have the disaster relief pay for our toll roads then....dang again, the gov will take that money our for something special. lets just cut the budget and not pay for a lot of stuff we dont need.

squid90
August 24, 2007 9:14 p.m.

To obscurite:

Just where do you get your facts and figures from? The Great Depression bottomed out in March of 1933 and the Dust Bowl of the Midwest began with a drought that started in the summer of that same year. By the time of the first huge dust storms that ravaged portions of the Midwest started in November 1933, there were already signs of economic recovery. The continued drought though 1939 certainly caused some aggrivation to the economic recovery, but hardly affected but a small percentage of our country's population. Remember, even though some 5 million people were directly or indirectly affected by the Dust Bowl era, that was only about 3 percent of the population. And many of those who were displaced went to California and thrived as farmers in an area completely unaffected by drought. Urban migration also provided labor pools that did not exist before.

Just because both things are associated with the "1930s" does not mean that they were related or causative.