Gov. Gregoire requests farm disaster assistance for 29 Washington counties

For Immediate Release: July 1, 2010

OLYMPIA � Gov. Chris Gregoire today, while on her �Feeding Washington� tour of Eastern Washington, announced she has asked U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack to designate 29 counties in Washington as farm disaster areas due to weather-related losses to agricultural producers. The damage was the result of extreme weather conditions throughout the spring, including severe cold, high winds and excessive rains.

�Conditions this year have been difficult for our growers across Washington, from Clark County to Okanogan,� Gregoire said. �Cold temperatures have harmed our tree fruit crops, while excessive rain made it difficult for bees to pollinate strawberries and other berry crops. A declaration will help our businesses absorb a difficult year and look forward.�

The request includes disaster declarations for Adams, Benton, Chelan, Clark, Columbia, Cowlitz, Douglas, Franklin, Grant, Grays Harbor, Island, King, Kitsap, Kittitas, Klickitat, Lewis, Mason, Okanogan, Pacific, Pierce, San Juan, Skagit, Skamania, Snohomish, Thurston, Wahkiakum, Walla Walla, Whatcom and Yakima counties.

The USDA disaster declaration would allow farmers in the primary counties, as well as adjoining counties, to apply for disaster assistance payments through several programs administered by USDA Farm Service Agency. Farmers may also be eligible for emergency low-interest loans from USDA to cover production and farm property losses.

�There are a lot of things farmers can do to minimize the risks they face during the production year, but they�ll never be able to control the weather,� said WSDA Director Dan Newhouse. �For those producers who experienced crop damage, report that information to your local USDA office or agent as soon as you can. And for the rest of us, this disaster is a reminder to purchase the appropriate crop insurance or USDA noninsured crop disaster assistance coverage. We never know when we�ll need those tools to help weather the storm.�

Gregoire is in Eastern Washington with Newhouse, Ecology Director Ted Sturdevant and Commerce Director Rogers Weed, leading a two-day tour to meet with leaders throughout the region focused on water, agriculture, and bioenergy. Gregoire�s �Feeding Washington� tour will help ensure growers, producers and distributors have the necessary tools and resources to remain globally competitive and help Washington drive its economy and grow jobs.
Before announcing her request to the USDA, Gregoire spent time in Walla Walla, where she toured the Walla Walla pump exchange project that will ensure water flows in the Walla Walla River during the summer months. The project supports the survival of Chinook salmon, endangered bull trout and summer steelhead while securing a more reliable water supply for local farmers.

Later today, Gregoire will visit the Red Mountain region near the Tri-Cities, where a project is underway to double the acreage of irrigated wine grapes to support and grow the state�s thriving wine industry. Tonight, Gregoire meets with the Yakima River Basin water enhancement work group to receive an update on a new, widely supported plan for increasing water supply and improving the environmental health of the Yakima River.

Gregoire continues her �Feeding Washington� tour tomorrow with stops at Irving Newhouse & Sons 600 acre farm in Sunnyside, Gebbers Farm in Brewster and Inland Empire Oilseeds in Odessa.

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