USDA Declares Disaster in 85 N.C. Counties

Raleigh, N.C. — The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Friday declared 85 North Carolina counties disaster areas because of the ongoing drought.

The disaster declaration makes low-interest Emergency Disaster Loans available to farmers who can't get credit elsewhere. Under USDA rules, farmers in the 11 counties that neighbor those in the disaster area also are eligible for assistance.

“The drought this summer, coming on top of the Easter freeze and the windstorm last spring, has devastated many farms across the state," Gov. Mike Easley said in a statement. "This declaration is a good first step that will provide financial assistance for eligible farmers to help them recover some of their losses and get ready for the next growing season. Our farmers need all the help they can get.”

Federal agriculture reports show 85 counties with a 30 percent or greater loss of at least one significant crop. Many farmers have already exhausted their winter hay supplies and have had to find other sources of feed for cattle.

The state Drought Management Advisory Council issued a report Thursday showing that 98 of North Carolina's 100 counties were in severe, extreme or exceptional drought. Officials have said the region needs about two feet of rain in the coming months to escape the drought.

The counties in the disaster area are as follows:

Alamance, Alexander, Alleghany, Anson, Ashe, Avery, Bertie, Bladen, Brunswick, Buncombe, Burke, Cabarrus, Caldwell, Caswell, Catawba, Chatham, Cherokee, Chowan, Clay, Cleveland, Columbus, Craven, Cumberland, Davidson, Davie, Duplin, Durham, Edgecombe, Forsyth, Franklin, Gaston, Gates, Graham, Granville, Greene, Guilford, Halifax, Harnett, Haywood, Henderson, Hertford, Hoke, Iredell, Jackson, Johnston, Jones, Lee, Lenoir and Lincoln.

Also, Macon, Madison, McDowell, Mecklenburg, Mitchell, Montgomery, Moore, Nash, Northampton, Orange, Perquimans, Person, Polk, Randolph, Richmond, Robeson, Rockingham, Rowan, Rutherford, Sampson, Scotland, Stanly, Stokes, Surry, Swain, Transylvania, Union, Vance, Wake, Warren, Watauga, Wayne, Wilkes, Wilson, Yadkin and Yancey.

The 11 neighboring counties eligible for assistance are Beaufort, Camden, Carteret, Martin, New Hanover, Onslow, Pamlico, Pasquotank, Pender, Pitt and Washington.

The deadline for applying for loans from the Farm Service Agency is May 12, 2008.

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Latest Comments

how do you find out aboutthe low interest loans?

gassy1
September 15, 2007 9:27 p.m.

To skeptic:

First, I must apologize for the discussion earlier. Not to you, but to anyone who may have been reading the dialogue. In the pressure of the evening and the storms, I failed to see that you are a xenophobic isolationist with socialist tendencies. Had I become aware or that sooner, I could have summarily dismissed you and saved everyone's time.

But I must congratulate you on your first day of GOLO. In the two months since this forum has been created, I don't believe I have seen anyone establish themselves as the King of red herrings and straw men as quickly as you have. Simply stunning achievement and I applaud you.

However, in an indulgement I find more humorous than anything else, I will let you dig your own rhetorical grave. Let's begin.

How are the economics of domestic small farm operation different than any other comparably-sized business in any other industry?

Steve Crisp
September 15, 2007 3:36 a.m.

He is very verbose, to be sure. However, his argument is based on the "Will of the Free Market" rhetoric subscribed to by conservatives and libertarians. That is a biased argument. It ignores points of secure infrastructure of a nation and sacrifices national self sufficiency for unrestrained profit. I'm not arguing by appealing to tradition. Yes, times change. We cannot remain a primary agrarian nation as it was 100 years ago simply because farming has changed. Technology has made farming more efficient. However, comparing farming to a store front is very poor reasoning. Farming must deal with capricious variables that cannot be controlled by insurance and planning as with other businesses.

Skepticghoul
September 14, 2007 9:55 p.m.

Crisp is harsh to some, right-on to others and as well serves as an indicator that the traditional, small-time farmers are very short-lived....which is unfortunate for those farmers but the by-product of change and economics...why is that large-scale hog farmers have succeded where small ones have disappeared?..simple economics....same thing applies for dairy and other types of farmers.....it's also the same reason why small computer companies are overrun by big ones..sentimentality and tradition bow to simple economics every time...eventually...think about small, traditional stores vs. Lowes or Home Depot or Walmart.....guess where most of the remaining small farmers go to buy supplies for their home and farm?