9/24/02

The summer of 2002 will go in the record books as the third-hottest ever in Virginia. And the past 12 months through August were the driest on record for Virginia, according to the National Climatic Data Center.
These two conditions led Gov. Mark Warner to ask President Bush for emergency aid to farmers.
The U.S. Senate passed the agricultural disaster assistance amendment with a resounding 79-16 vote on Sept. 10. Both Virginia Sens. John Warner and George Allen supported the legislation.
In a letter to President Bush, Warner said, “Disaster assistance, beyond the usual low-interest loans, must be provided to our farmers and ranchers in order to preserve the livelihood and the way of life of those who have suffered staggering losses, due to the prolonged drought. I strongly urge you to sign this legislation without taking offsets from the recent farm bill.”
Bruce L. Hiatt, president of the Virginia Farm Bureau Federation, agrees. “The amendment that passed is emergency money,” he said. “We should not have to find offsets for it in the farm bill or in any other way.” Farm Bureau is hopeful that House members will approve the legislation before members recess next month.
The legislation adopted by the Senate provides emergency funding to partially offset production losses and increased feed costs as a result of natural disasters. Assistance would be available to all eligible crop and livestock producers, including specialty crop producers, in counties designated as disaster areas by the administration for both 2001 and 2002.
In Virginia, there are currently 10 localities designated by U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Ann M. Veneman as primary disaster areas because of drought conditions. Thirty-eight localities have been designated as contiguous disaster areas. There are 26 locality requests awaiting response from the secretary’s office.
Agriculture losses in Virginia currently total an estimated $120 million and could reach as much as $200 million by the end of this fall.
“The drought has reduced both the production levels and product quality through no fault of our farmers,” Hiatt said. “Even with existing risk management programs, there is no way we can adequately address the disasters of the magnitude experienced by our producers during the last two production years.”
A House vote is expected before Congress concludes its work in October.