Idaho's congressional delegation is urging the U.S. Department of Agriculture to quickly respond to the crop damage suffered by Gem State farmers due to massive rainstorms last month.
U.S. Sens. Mike Crapo and Jim Risch, and U.S. Reps. Mike Simpson and Raul Labrador, are asking the USDA to promptly approve any request by an Idaho county to be declared a disaster area because of rain damage to crops.
Such declarations would make USDA emergency low-interest loans available to any eligible farmer in or near a county declared a disaster.
Thus far Twin Falls, Clearwater and Jerome counties have requested USDA disaster declarations and other counties are expected to shortly follow suit.
The heavy rainfall in August was well documented, with Pocatello and many other southeast Idaho cities nearly breaking records for precipitation last month.
Throughout eastern Idaho much of the wheat and barley crops have been decimated.
In south-central Idaho, Twin Falls County is reporting that more than half of its grain crop has been lost with the damage likely to exceed $12 million.
Northern Idaho's Clearwater County experienced a severe hail storm on the Weippe Prairie last month that damaged much of the grain grown there.
In addition to counties with crop damage, Elmore County near Boise has been declared to be in a state of emergency by Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter because rain-caused flooding has washed out roads there. The declaration will enable Elmore County to access state and federal funds to repair the damage.
But in most places in Idaho, the destruction last month was to crops rather than infrastructure.
In a letter to U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Thomas Vilsack, Idaho's congressional delegation wrote: “In multiple locations, excessive rainfall late in the summer amounted to several inches more than what is normal for the region.
“These severe rain events could not have come at a worse time as mature wheat and barley crops were nearing harvest. Other crops, such as hay, peas and beans, have been adversely impacted as well.”
Risch, Crapo, Simpson and Labrador urged Vilsack to quickly grant disaster declaration requests from Idaho counties reeling from the rain.
The delegation wrote: “It is clear that these weather events have had a destructive impact on many important agriculture regions in Idaho, making the farm safety net all the more important at this time....It is our understanding more counties in Idaho may be requesting disaster declarations in the near future and it is our hope that you (Vilsack) will promptly review and grant these declarations so our farmers and rural communities may begin to recover as soon as possible.”
Source: Idaho State Journal