January 26, 2009

LANSING - Governor Jennifer M. Granholm and Michigan Department of Agriculture (MDA) Director Don Koivisto announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has granted the state’s agricultural disaster requests for damage to crops from frost and freezing temperatures, severe summer storms, and drought. Michigan farmers who faced weather-related crop losses during the 2008 growing season are now eligible for federal disaster assistance.

“This designation will help preserve the viability of Michigan’s $64 billion agriculture industry and assist farmers who faced significant crop losses to overcome these weather-related challenges,” Granholm said. The USDA designation makes all qualified farmers in both primary and contiguous disaster counties eligible for low-interest emergency loans from the USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) provided eligibility requirements are met. Michigan farmers will have until August of 2009 to apply for the loans to cover up to 100 percent of their weather-related production losses.

“In 2008, Michigan experienced some dramatic weather that impacted our diverse agriculture industry and the USDA designations impact 80 of Michigan’s 83 counties,” said Koivisto. “These emergency low-interest loans are critical to providing relief for farmers impacted by severe weather.”

The frost / freeze declaration addresses 41 Michigan counties that experienced extreme frost and freeze conditions from March 1, 2008, through May 31, 2008. The severe weather conditions devastated crop yields across the state, particularly impacting fruit, vegetables, and other weather-sensitive crops.  Farmers in an additional 25 contiguous counties are also eligible to receive emergency loans from USDA. 

USDA has also declared that 28 Michigan counties are eligible for loans due to losses caused by storms with excessive rain, flooding, and high winds starting April 12, 2008 and ending September 16, 2008.  Farmers in an additional 37 contiguous counties are also eligible to receive assistance for severe storm damage.  While many parts of Michigan had severe storms and flooding, some of those same areas also experienced drought during the summer of 2008.  Drought conditions impacted 46 counties directly, and an additional 24 contiguous counties also are eligible for USDA assistance. 

Farmers should contact their local or county FSA offices for further information, including specific eligibility requirements and application procedures. A list of offices is available online at www.fsa.usda.gov/mi/st.html.

A complete listing of which counties were impacted by the disaster designations is available at:  http://www.fema.gov/dhsusda/searchState.do?state=MI.