08.24.06

Cantwell Meets With Apple, Cherry, Pear Growers, Works to Deliver Relief Following Severe Storms

One in ten local tree fruit growers lost more than 30 percent, many individual orchards lost entire crop, losses could exceed $60 million

OROVILLE, WA – Thursday, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) toured an Okanogan County orchard and met with local apple, cherry, and pear growers to discuss the urgent need for federal disaster relief following severe thunder and hail storms in early July that decimated many local orchards. In the weeks since the storms, Cantwell has worked to help secure federal disaster relief for hard-hit tree fruit growers in Okanogan, Chelan, and Douglas counties and wheat growers Lincoln and Adams counties. In a letter sent today, she urged Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns to expedite the relief process and make affected growers eligible for the federal assistance they need to recover. Cantwell also vowed to fight to secure disaster assistance grants for local growers.

“Farmers who lost their crops in this storm need immediate relief,” said Cantwell. “Many of our state’s key crops took a hard hit. Agriculture is the backbone of our state’s economy, supporting thousands of families and jobs and helping to make our state the great place it is today. Washington farmers and their families deserve our help, and I will keep fighting to make sure our growers and their communities get the resources they need to recover.”

Between July 4 and 6, thunderstorms with rain and hail caused severe damage to crops in Adams, Chelan, Douglas, Lincoln, and Okanogan counties. Chelan, Douglas, and Okanogan counties each lost nearly one-tenth of their total apple crop, Okanogan county lost five percent of its total cherry crop, and Chelan county lost 20 percent of its total pear crop. The July storms, however, had a much more severe impact on individual orchards, leaving many completely destroyed while sometimes leaving neighboring orchards undamaged. Approximately 10 percent of pear, apple, and cherry growers in Chelan, Douglas, and Okanogan counties lost of more than 30 percent of their crop. According to preliminary estimates, losses to the cherry industry could total between $20 million to $30 million of this year’s harvest. Washington’s cherry industry contributes more than $500 million to the state’s economy annually.

Following the storm, Cantwell backed a request by Governor Christine Gregoire for federal assistance. In a July 18 letter to Secretary of Agriculture Mike Johanns, Cantwell asked him to support Gregoire’s request to designate these counties as farm disaster areas, which would make them eligible for federal assistance. Last week, a local U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA) team from Spokane completed its assessment of the damage in these five counties and submitted a recommendation to Secretary Johanns that he issue a disaster declaration. Cantwell is sending a letter today to Secretary Johanns, asking him to make his decision as soon as possible on making Washington growers eligible for assistance. A final decision from the USDA is expected within one month.

A county must experience an average crop loss of 30 percent to qualify for a disaster declaration. However, if a county’s crop loss average is below 30 percent, disaster loans can be made available to producers that are able to show crop losses and prove they cannot obtain financial assistance through a commercial lender. A disaster declaration for Okanogan, Chelan, Douglas, Lincoln, and Adams counties would make producers who lost more than 30 percent of their crops, and who cannot secure financing through commercial loans, eligible for low-interest emergency USDA loans. Eligible growers can receive loans up to $500,000 at an interest rate of 3.75 percent.

Cantwell will also help secure disaster assistance grants for local growers in agriculture disaster legislation for the 2006 growing year that will likely come up next year once 2006 loss totals have been assessed in full. Cantwell sponsored agriculture disaster relief legislation for the 2005 growing year to help farmers recover from crop losses resulting from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita as well as inclement weather around the country. The legislation contained $100 million for specialty crop producers.

Overall, Okanogan, Chelan, and Douglas counties have approximately 170,000 acres of fruit tree orchards producing cherries, pears, peaches, and apricots. Washington state is the nation’s largest producer of apples, sweet cherries, and pears, producing 58 percent, 47 percent, and 43 percent of the national total, respectively. All three crops rank in the state’s top 10 commodities by value. Last year, Washington produced $962 million in apples on 155,000 acres, $237 million in sweet cherries on 29,000 acres, and $133 million in pears on 25,000 acres.

[The text of Cantwell’s August 24 letter to Secretary Johanns follows below]

August 24, 2006

The Honorable Mike Johanns Secretary
U.S. Department of Agriculture
1400 Independence Ave. SW
Washington, D.C. 20250

Dear Secretary Johanns:

I am writing today to once again express my support for an agriculture disaster declaration for Adams, Chelan, Douglas, Lincoln, and Okanogan county in Washington state.

On July 18, Washington Governor Gregoire submitted a formal request for a disaster declaration after a severe storm hit central Washington earlier this summer on July 4, 5, and 6. The Wenatchee Valley region and the surrounding area in north central Washington is a major tree fruit producing region known for producing some of the world’s finest apples, pears and sweet cherries. As you may know, Washington State is the leading supplier of these fruits, producing 47 percent of the nation's sweet cherries, and 58 percent of the nation's apple crop. The July storm decimated some orchards so badly that many growers are looking at a total loss. Further, nearly 10 percent of all apple, pear, and cherry growers in the region have reported losses exceeding 30 percent. Preliminary estimates show that losses to the cherry industry alone could amount to $30 million of this year’s harvest; and total crop losses in the region could top $60 million. Losses of this magnitude are devastating to the local economy and threaten the livelihood of many growers and the jobs their farms and orchards support.

Last week, the state Farm Service Agency team, sent out to survey the damages in these five counties, completed disaster assessment reports. They have recommended that a disaster declaration be issued. I urge you to act quickly to issue a disaster declaration so that these farmers may begin to seek out assistance from USDA to make it through the crop year. The continued viability of hundreds of WA orchards and the families and communities they support depends on swift action by USDA. I appreciate your timely consideration of this very important request.

Sincerely,

Maria Cantwell
United States Senator

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