Federal panel urged to seek grants for drought-hit farmers
Nov 12, 2007—North Carolina’s drought is the worst on record, difficult for communities but devastating for farms to a degree that won’t be fully realized for years, Gov. Mike Easley told a congressional committee Thursday.
The OLTN Weather Update website reported an Associated Press story that said Easley and witnesses pressed the congressional panel for funds for agricultural disasters, including the drought gripping the Southeast and parts of the West, including Idaho, and wildfires that are ravaging Southern California.
The two-term Democratic governor appeared before the House Agriculture Committee at the behest of Rep. Bob Etheridge, D-N.C., who last month was joined by 53 other members of Congress in sending a letter to President Bush that sought direct disaster assistance payments for drought-stricken farmers.
While the federal government has declared a disaster in 85 of North Carolina’s 100 counties, making farmers eligible for low-interest loans, Easley, Etheridge and others said Thursday that non-repayable grants are the best answer.
“Our farmers need more money,” Easley said. “They do not need more loans that they will be unable to repay when their crops fail to bring in enough income.”
He said he hasn’t bothered asking for a federal emergency declaration, which would trigger grants, “simply because I know there’s no money available” as Congress and President Bush settle into a protracted fight over appropriations.
“I don’t want to raise false hopes for the farmers,” Easley said during the hearing, which was streamed live over the Internet from Washington.
North Carolina is one of the hardest-hit states — the hardest, according to Easley — in a drought that also stretches across most of Tennessee and Alabama, and parts of Georgia, South Carolina, Virginia and Kentucky.
As of last week, the U.S. Drought Monitor said more than a third of the Southeast, including 72 North Carolina counties, is in exceptional drought, the worst classification.
Severe to extreme drought plagues many Western states, including Nevada, Idaho and California, where the dry weather has helped fuel catastrophic wildfires.
No relief is expected for either region before January, according to a climate outlook map presented by agricultural meteorologist Brad Rippey. The chart indicated the drought will persist or worsen in North Carolina, Virginia and parts of several Southwestern states.
“At the very best, they will remain the same,” he said.
That means farmers whose harvest was devastated this year, starting with an Easter freeze and exacerbated by the drought, will be in the same boat as they try to prepare for next year’s planting, Easley said.
“If we don’t replenish our lakes and ponds and streams during the winter, then we really are going to face some tremendous challenges in the spring,” he said.
Many will have to decide in the coming months how to cut their losses — perhaps by early sale of cattle herds, or by getting out of farming altogether, he said. Those decisions will lead to “a ripple effect” well beyond agricultural businesses.
In North Carolina’s mountains, where the freeze shocked apple trees and the drought stunted the crop, farmers may be tempted to sell their land for subdivisions.
“This affects more than just agriculture,” Easley said. “Everybody wants to retire in the mountains, it’s beautiful. But development is moving so rapidly, I’m afraid all of these farms will get developed, and I’m afraid that will be bad for our environment in western North Carolina.”
Easley said the state has done all it can to address the drought locally, such as easing restrictions on water-sharing between communities, providing grants to buy and ship scarce livestock feed, considering tax credits for industries that save water, and restricting water consumption by homeowners.
“We’re getting tremendous cooperation from our citizens and our local governments,” Easley said.
“But for the farmers and agriculture, they need rain. There is no replacement for rain. There is not much you can do to conserve and cut back in agriculture. You have to have the rain for the crops to grow.”
Nov 12, 2007—North Carolina’s drought is the worst on record, difficult for communities but devastating for farms to a degree that won’t be fully realized for years, Gov. Mike Easley told a congressional committee Thursday.
The OLTN Weather Update website reported an Associated Press story that said Easley and witnesses pressed the congressional panel for funds for agricultural disasters, including the drought gripping the Southeast and parts of the West, including Idaho, and wildfires that are ravaging Southern California.
The two-term Democratic governor appeared before the House Agriculture Committee at the behest of Rep. Bob Etheridge, D-N.C., who last month was joined by 53 other members of Congress in sending a letter to President Bush that sought direct disaster assistance payments for drought-stricken farmers.
While the federal government has declared a disaster in 85 of North Carolina’s 100 counties, making farmers eligible for low-interest loans, Easley, Etheridge and others said Thursday that non-repayable grants are the best answer.
“Our farmers need more money,” Easley said. “They do not need more loans that they will be unable to repay when their crops fail to bring in enough income.”
He said he hasn’t bothered asking for a federal emergency declaration, which would trigger grants, “simply because I know there’s no money available” as Congress and President Bush settle into a protracted fight over appropriations.
“I don’t want to raise false hopes for the farmers,” Easley said during the hearing, which was streamed live over the Internet from Washington.
North Carolina is one of the hardest-hit states — the hardest, according to Easley — in a drought that also stretches across most of Tennessee and Alabama, and parts of Georgia, South Carolina, Virginia and Kentucky.
As of last week, the U.S. Drought Monitor said more than a third of the Southeast, including 72 North Carolina counties, is in exceptional drought, the worst classification.
Severe to extreme drought plagues many Western states, including Nevada, Idaho and California, where the dry weather has helped fuel catastrophic wildfires.
No relief is expected for either region before January, according to a climate outlook map presented by agricultural meteorologist Brad Rippey. The chart indicated the drought will persist or worsen in North Carolina, Virginia and parts of several Southwestern states.
“At the very best, they will remain the same,” he said.
That means farmers whose harvest was devastated this year, starting with an Easter freeze and exacerbated by the drought, will be in the same boat as they try to prepare for next year’s planting, Easley said.
“If we don’t replenish our lakes and ponds and streams during the winter, then we really are going to face some tremendous challenges in the spring,” he said.
Many will have to decide in the coming months how to cut their losses — perhaps by early sale of cattle herds, or by getting out of farming altogether, he said. Those decisions will lead to “a ripple effect” well beyond agricultural businesses.
In North Carolina’s mountains, where the freeze shocked apple trees and the drought stunted the crop, farmers may be tempted to sell their land for subdivisions.
“This affects more than just agriculture,” Easley said. “Everybody wants to retire in the mountains, it’s beautiful. But development is moving so rapidly, I’m afraid all of these farms will get developed, and I’m afraid that will be bad for our environment in western North Carolina.”
Easley said the state has done all it can to address the drought locally, such as easing restrictions on water-sharing between communities, providing grants to buy and ship scarce livestock feed, considering tax credits for industries that save water, and restricting water consumption by homeowners.
“We’re getting tremendous cooperation from our citizens and our local governments,” Easley said.
“But for the farmers and agriculture, they need rain. There is no replacement for rain. There is not much you can do to conserve and cut back in agriculture. You have to have the rain for the crops to grow.”
