Losses likely to be in the millions after drought

By Billy Bruce
The Valdosta Daily Times

May 19, 2007 01:03 am

— VALDOSTA — South Georgia farmers are facing a devastating financial hit after losing millions in the April cold snap and facing millions more in losses from what some are calling the worst drought in recent memory.
Critical filing deadlines for reporting individual situations to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA) are approaching. Local FSA officials are urging farmers to come into their offices in Valdosta to file necessary paperwork so they can qualify for potential federal disaster relief or for preventive planting recovery.
The local FSA office, headed by County Executive Director Terrie Wolford, covers a four-county area that includes Lowndes, Echols, Lanier and Clinch counties.
Wolford said financial losses to area growers from the cold snap and freeze that struck over Easter weekend, April 7-9, are estimated at more than $20 million. Farmers responding to Gov. Sonny Perdue’s request for loss estimates after the freeze reported losses in 137 of 159 counties.
The accompanying one-two punch of the drought will add another devastating financial hit to farmers that could negatively impact area agriculture for years to come, Wolford said.
Unless they have expensive irrigation equipment and the money to pay for fuel to power it, farmers have not been able to plant corn, peanuts, cotton, tobacco, wheat, fruit or hay, and windows for getting spring planting done are rapidly closing.
Wolford says growers in the FSA’s local region estimate that they’ve already lost between 35 percent to 90 percent of crops for 2007 from the drought. At an emergency meeting of the FSA’s emergency board May 4, members estimated that the four-county area is between 20-25 inches below normal rainfall counts by this time of year, and Clinch County had lost 3,000 acres of timberland to the wildfires, Wolford said.
“This is the worst drought I have seen in my 20 years with FSA,” said Wolford, who is a Lanier County native. “I know Lowndes County is developing, but agriculture is what we thrive on in South Georgia. The drought isn’t just affecting farmers. It will affect you and me, too, at the grocery store and elsewhere.”
Financial aid could be on the way from Washington, D.C., if Congress gets around to passing a war funding supplemental bill that could bring $3.5 billion in agriculture disaster relief. According to AgWeb.com, that supplemental package passed the House (HR 2207) and is now sitting in conference in the Senate.
The package includes $500 million for fighting wildfires, and provides crop growers “such sums as necessary” for crop disaster assistance to producers who incurred qualifying losses in the 2005 and 2006 crop years, and in 2007, if the crop was planted or was prevented from being planted before Feb. 28. The House version sets as a condition that only farmers who purchased federal crop insurance can receive a disaster payment.
President Bush has threatened to veto the $3.5 billion bill because he believes the overall health of the farm economy is good, AgWeb.com reports.
Even if it passes, it’s not likely that any money will find its way to area growers’ pockets before next year or even the year after. Regardless, it is still critical for growers to come into the FSA office at 2108 E. Hill Ave. to file paperwork to qualify for the potential relief. Farmers with questions should call the FSA office at (229) 242-0575, Wolford said.
“We’ve got to do everything we can to help them,” Wolford said. “We’re not certain we’ll get the relief, but we have to help our area growers comply with filing requirements so they can receive any help that does come.”

Reporting Deadlines:
To qualify for any benefits or disaster relief, farmers need to meet these deadlines if they were prevented by the drought from planting crops this year. They have 15 calendar days after the final planting date. Some deadlines have passed, but Wolford stressed that growers should contact the FSA regardless. The prevented planting deadlines are:
• Corn and tobacco — April 30 planting deadline; May 15 reporting deadline.
• Cotton and peanuts — May 31 planting deadline; June 15 reporting deadline.
• Soybeans — June 15 planting deadline; June 30 reporting deadline.
A change for the 2007 crop year does not allow for “late-filed” prevented planting acreage claims. However, a field inspection is required to verify eligible disaster conditions that prevented the crop from being planted. The farm inspection requirement cannot be waived. In addition, any “late-filed” request that is not filed in sufficient time to allow for the required inspection will result in a denial. Farmers are required to pay for the inspection in conjunction with the “late-filed” request, the FSA rules state.
Farmers who planted crops that failed in the dry conditions have a few rules to comply with, as well.
Reports of failed acreage must be filed before disposition of the crop, and producers must be able to establish to the satisfaction of the county committee that the crop failed and was prevented from being replanted through the normal planting period because of natural disaster conditions.
The annual requirement of reporting to the Farm Service Agency office can be referred to as crop reporting, acreage reporting, or crop certification. Filing an accurate and timely report for all crops and land uses, including failed acreage, can prevent loss of benefits for a variety of Farm Service Agency programs. All cropland on the farm, whether idle or planted, must be reported to receive benefits from the Direct and Counter-Cyclical Program, Marketing Assistance Loans and Loan Deficiency Payments.
• Deadline for reporting tobacco is May 31.
• Deadline to certify and report all spring and summer seeded crops, including conservation reserve program acreage, is July 15.
• Final date to pay for Boll Weevil Eradication Program fee of $2.75 per acre for 2007 is July 15.
• Deadline to request a farm reconstitution is Aug. 1.
• Deadline to sign-up the 2007 direct and counter-cyclical program contract is Aug. 3. After Aug. 3, a $100 late charge applies.
• All fruit and vegetables need to be reported no later than 15 days after planting.
Computer-savvy farmers can find out more on FSA programs and the above information at www.fsa.usda.gov.

All cropland on the farm, whether idle or planted, must be reported to receive benefits from the Direct and Counter-Cyclical Program, Marketing Assistance Loans and Loan Deficiency Payments.

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