Bredesen Request for Federal Farm Assistance Granted for Seven More Counties

NASHVILLE – Governor Phil Bredesen today announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture has designated seven more counties in Tennessee as natural disaster areas for agriculture due to drought.

“In addition to dealing with financial difficulties, like other sectors of our economy, farmers have also been hit hard by extreme weather conditions for almost three years now,” said Bredesen. “This designation will be important to many producers, who could use a little help in recovering from production losses and dealing with higher feed costs through the winter.”

The seven counties approved for federal farm assistance include Carter, Cumberland, DeKalb, Loudon, Roane, Sullivan and Trousdale. The designation makes farmers in these counties eligible to apply for emergency loans, livestock assistance and supplemental farm payments as provided by the Food, Conservation and Energy Act of 2008.

This brings to 46 the total number of counties that have been designated a natural disaster area for agriculture due to persistent drought conditions that have plagued Tennessee farmers this year. Because benefits of a disaster designation also extend to adjoining counties, farmers in more than two-thirds of Tennessee counties are now eligible to apply for some form of federal assistance.

Farmers can find out if they are eligible for federal assistance by contacting their local USDA Farm Service Agency. A list of federal disaster declarations by state and county can also be found online at www.fema.gov/dhsusda.

Earlier this week, Bredesen also requested a disaster designation for nine other East and Middle Tennessee counties including Bedford, Cocke, Marshall, Maury, Moore, Putnam, Sevier, Van Buren and White.

Farmers in these areas reported crop losses this year ranging from 30 to 65 percent in many cases. Livestock producers also suffered poor pasture conditions, reduced hay yields and water supply issues due to extremely dry growing conditions in late summer and early fall.

For livestock producers needing to buy or looking to sell hay, the Tennessee Department of Agriculture and Tennessee Farm Bureau cooperatively manage the Tennessee Hay Directory. A listing of local and out-of-state sources of hay can be found at www.picktnproducts.org.