WASHINGTON — The Arkansas delegation has joined Gov. Mike Beebe in requesting a federal disaster declaration for the entire state because of the drought.
U.S. Sen. Mark Pryor, D-Ark., said Wednesday that a letter has been sent to U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack requesting that he quickly respond to the expanded request for assistance.
“We are unified on this,” Pryor said during a conference call with Arkansas reporters.
Pryor said that 88 percent of the state is in a severe drought and that is causing “severe problems” for the state’s agricultural industry.
“I wholeheartedly support Governor Beebe on this and will continue to press the U.S. Department of Agriculture on this – to get some relief to people quickly,” he said.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
Beebe submitted a similar request to Vilsack for 13 counties last month, but on Tuesday he expanded his request to include all 75 counties in the state.
If issued, the declaration would allow eligible farmers and ranchers to receive emergency loans to support operations hampered by the drought.
Farmers and ranchers can contact their local Farm Service Agency office for details on how to apply for the loans if the declaration is issued.
Pryor said that he had met Tuesday with turkey growers who are concerned about the impact that the severe drought across the Midwest will have on feed. They told him that as much as a third of the nation’s corn harvest has already been lost due to the severe drought.
“That seems high to me but even if it is 20 to 25 percent that means there will be a major shortfall in corn production,” Pryor said.
Pryor said that he has begun to consider what policies the federal government should consider to ease the impact such a shortfall would have on cattle, chicken and others who rely on corn feed.
Pryor said that all options should be on the table including imposing an embargo on grain as well as lifting mandates on the use of ethanol as an alternative to gasoline.
The USDA Wednesday lowered its corn harvest projection by nearly 13 percent to 12.97 billion bushels, down from a projected record yield of 14.79 billion bushels. The harvest, however, would surpass last year’s harvest of 12.36 billion bushels.
“Persistent and extreme June dryness across the central and eastern corn belt and extreme late June and early July heat from the central Plains to the Ohio River Valley have substantially lowered yield prospects across most of the major growing regions,” the USDA said.