Bismarck, N.D. – Gov. John Hoeven today announced that U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has approved the governor’s request for a Secretarial Disaster Declaration covering weather-related crop damages in 24 North Dakota counties. The request was prompted by the impact of severe spring flooding and late season weather on crops this year.

The declaration designates the counties as primary natural disaster areas because they sustained a 30-percent or greater production loss in a single enterprise due to natural disasters. The counties included are Adams, Benson, Bottineau, Burke, Cavalier, Dickey, Divide, Eddy, Grand Forks, Griggs, LaMoure, McHenry, Nelson, Pembina, Pierce, Ramsey, Ransom, Richland, Rolette, Sargent, Steele, Towner, Traill and Walsh.

Under federal law, an additional 18 contiguous counties are also eligible for assistance. These include Barnes, Bowman, Cass, Foster, Grant, Hettinger, Logan, McIntosh, McLean, Mountrail, Renville, Sheridan, Sioux, Slope, Stutsman, Ward, Wells and Williams.

Four additional counties – Bowman, Grant, Oliver and Slope – didn’t qualify for the Secretarial Disaster Declaration, but ranchers in those counties may be eligible for assistance under the USDA’s Livestock Indemnity Program.

Hoeven in July requested the USDA Farm Service Agency office in North Dakota to conduct preliminary damage assessments for all North Dakota counties to determine losses in crop production and quantity. Approval of today’s request is based on information contained in the findings of Damage Assessment Reports prepared by all North Dakota County Emergency Boards, and a unanimous recommendation by the North Dakota USDA State Emergency Board.

In a letter to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, Hoeven cited spring flooding, late planting, cool growing conditions, and late season moisture that “has challenged the harvesting of row crops, including sugar beets, Corn and Soybeans.”

E-mail comments to the Governor

Top

Back

W3C AA

·

W3C CSS

·

W3C XHTML

Disclaimer

·

Privacy Policy

·

Security Policy

Copyright © 2009. All Rights Reserved. The State of North Dakota. | save this article / add to your favorites list