Bredesen Requests Federal Farm Assistance for Knox, Sumner Counties

NASHVILLE - Governor Phil Bredesen has requested a Secretarial designation of natural disaster for agriculture for Knox and Sumner counties as a result of drought and excessive heat during the growing season.  

 

“This year has been a mixed bag for farmers across Tennessee as some experienced flooding while others have suffered a lack of rainfall,” said Bredesen. “I’m glad to make this request and hope federal assistance will be forthcoming soon to help farmers in these areas recover from a difficult growing season.”

 

Bredesen made the request in a letter to U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack. A Secretarial disaster designation would make farmers in these and adjoining counties eligible to apply for low-interest loans and supplemental farm payments through their local USDA Farm Service Agency.

 

Farmers in Knox and Sumner counties have reported crop losses exceeding 30 percent in most cases for corn, soybeans, tobacco, hay and pastures as a result of inadequate rainfall during critical periods for crop development.

 

“Federal assistance can be important for helping farmers recover and to prepare for the next growing season,” said state Agriculture Commissioner Terry Oliver. “We fully expect that as this year’s harvest is fully realized, there will likely be other counties to qualify for federal assistance.”

 

According to the Tennessee Field Office of the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service, the latest weekly crop survey shows 22 percent of the state’s corn crop rated in poor to very poor condition. Twenty-eight percent of pastures and 20 percent of soybeans were also rated in poor to very poor condition. For the latest crop forecast and a weekly report on crop conditions across the state, visit www.nass.usda.gov/tn. USDA-NASS makes this report available each Monday at 3 p.m., April through November. 

 

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