WASHINGTON — U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack has issued a disaster declaration for most of Arkansas, clearing the way for farmers and ranchers to get emergency loans to help them through the drought.
All but a handful of counties in Southeastern Arkansas received the disaster designation that Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe had requested earlier in the week for the entire state.
Vilsack has declared a drought disaster in more than 1,000 counties from California to Florida. In Arkansas, 69 of 75 counties were included.
“I am pleased by the quick response from USDA. The struggles our local farmers and ranchers are facing as a result of this drought are putting their ability to earn a living at risk. In addition, less food on the market means higher prices, so this disaster affects us all,” said Sen. John Boozman, R-Ark.
Wednesday, Vilsack announced a package of program improvements that will deliver faster and more flexible assistance to farmers and ranchers devastated by natural disasters.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
USDA has simplified the process for disaster designations, which they anticipate will cut the processing time by about 40 percent for most counties.
The department has also lowered interest rates for emergency loans from 3.75 percent to 2.25 percent.
“Agriculture remains a bright spot in our nation’s economy and it is increasingly important that USDA has the tools to act quickly and deliver assistance to farmers and ranchers when they need it most,” Vilsack said.
The Arkansas delegation had joined Beebe earlier Wednesday in requesting a quick response to the request for assistance given that 88 percent of the state is in a severe drought.
Farmers and ranchers can contact their local Farm Service Agency office for details on how to apply for the loans when a declaration is issued.
Sen. Mark Pryor, D-Ark., 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.