News Releases for July 2004
July 20, 2004
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Hoeven Requests Secretarial Disaster Declaration For North Dakota
BISMARCK, N.D. - Gov. John Hoeven today asked U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Ann Veneman to issue a Secretarial Disaster Declaration in response to drought conditions in the southwest and excessive precipitation in the northeast and north central. The extreme conditions have seriously affected the state’s agricultural industry and its related service providers statewide, Hoeven said.
The Governor will follow up later this week in meetings with White House agriculture advisor Chuck Conner and U.S. Department of Agriculture chief of staff Dale Moore in Washington, D.C. to press for additional aid for producers.
“We are asking Secretary Veneman to recognize the significant effects these continuous years of flood, drought and severe weather have had on the lives of people that support our state’s leading industry,” Hoeven said. “We are working to do all we can to help farmers, ranchers and those who depend on agriculture for a living, to recover from the financial impacts caused by flood, severe storms and drought.”
The Governor’s request follows completion of Damage Assessment Reports (DARs) by the Farm Service Agency for all North Dakota counties. Based on information provided in the DARs, the North Dakota U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Emergency Board recommended, by unanimous vote to certify the damage assessment reports preparatory to a disaster designation for 35 counties that a Secretarial Disaster Designation was needed for the following counties: Adams, Billings, Bottineau, Bowman, Burke, Burleigh, Cavalier, Divide, Dunn, Eddy, Emmons, Foster, Golden Valley, Grand Forks, Grant, Hettinger, McHenry, McKenzie, Mercer, Morton, Mountrail, Nelson, Oliver, Pembina, Pierce, Ramsey, Ransom, Renville, Rolette, Sioux, Slope, Stark, Towner, Walsh and Ward.
In addition, 18 counties have been identified as contiguous counties that would qualify producers for emergency loan assistance. Those counties include: Barnes, Benson, Cass, Dickey, Griggs, Kidder, LaMoure, Logan, McIntosh, McLean, Richland, Sargent, Sheridan, Steele, Stutsman, Traill, Wells and Williams.
“Repeated years of drought in one portion of the state and flooding in another, combined with the effects of severe weather, have resulted in damages to crops and have prevented planting operations, as well as water and grazing shortages,” Hoeven said. “At this point, there is a need for additional resources to address significant damage to the agriculture industry and businesses associated with agriculture.”
If Veneman approves the disaster designation, assistance in the form of emergency loan and debt restructuring programs through USDA or the Small Business Administration programs, can be made available to eligible producers and agricultural-related businesses. Hoeven expects a decision on the request by about mid-August.
On Monday, after contacts from Hoeven, the USDA approved opening Conservation Reserve Program acres in 11 North Dakota counties for haying as well as grazing.
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