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Crop damage is cause for state of emergency
By John Mason
KINDERHOOK — Supervisor Doug McGivney has declared a state of emergency in the town of Kinderhook due to the damage to farm crops caused by Monday’s high winds, rain and hail.
McGivney, who is on the mend following heart surgery May 27, said farmers in the Kinderhook area suffered around $1 million worth of damage to tree fruits, berries and vegetables.
His reason for declaring the emergency is spelled out in the final sentence of the declaration’s final paragraph:
“I, hereby, direct all departments of the town of Kinderhook to take whatever steps necessary to protect life and property, public infrastructure and other such emergency assistance as deemed necessary. I hereby request the assistance of the county of Columbia, the state of New York and United States of America.”
McGivney hopes local farmers will get disaster relief to compensate for what some were describing as near-100-percent losses. The state of emergency went into effect 4 p.m., Monday, when the storm first hit the county.
Meanwhile, U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., urged the U.S. Department of Agriculture to make New York “a top priority” and “assist the state in its recovery efforts.” Columbia County was included in his list of 15 counties in the Hudson Valley and Western and Central New York reporting damage.
“Such damage imperils not only this year’s crop, but potentially future crops, based upon damage to the apple trees,” McGivney wrote in the emergency declaration.
Most of the severe damage to crops apparently occurred in Stuyvesant, Kinderhook and contingent parts of Chatham as a thunderstorm passed over Columbia County on its journey east.
The amount of damage depends on the type of hail, McGivney told the Register-Star. According to one farm’s survey, “every Macintosh got hit 10 times.”
“There are two types of hail. The regular type is round, marble-shaped and hard,” McGivney said. “The irregular shaped is sharp, and those did the worst damage. They chipped the bark.”
The farmers were out spraying with fungicides to try to save their trees for next year, he said. Hail also shredded the leaves of some trees. Damage to the leaves threatens the following year’s crop, while damage to the bark can permanently damage the tree.
“Our damages will be the cost of getting these corrections made,” the supervisor stated.
He said he was afraid Columbia County would get overlooked with all the attention paid to Western New York, where Schumer was this week.
McGivney sent the emergency declaration to Gov. David A. Paterson, New York Secretary of State Lorraine Cortes-Vazquez, state Sen. Steve Saland, R,C,I-Poughkeepsie, Assemblyman Tim Gordon, I-Bethlehem, U.S. Rep. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-Hudson, and U.S. Senators Hillary Clinton and Schumer.
According to his press release, Schumer “wrote a personal letter to Secretary of Agriculture Ed Schafer asking him to work immediately with Governor Paterson to provide technical assistance to promptly compile and report the potentially staggering losses and damages so that an informed decision can be made on whether to ask for a disaster declaration.
“I was in Western New York on Monday afternoon and experienced firsthand the golf ball-sized hail and severe weather that slammed residents across the region,” said Schumer. “Our farmers — the backbone of our economy — were the hardest hit, and when they’re hurting, the entire region suffers. We must work immediately to identify the losses and damages and determine if we need to declare the region a disaster area, which would make these farmers eligible for emergency loans and for the newly-created agricultural disaster program to help them get back on their feet.”
In regions designated disaster areas, farm operators would be eligible for low-interest emergency loans from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farm Service Agency.
“These emergency loans are designed to help producers recover from production and physical losses due to drought, flooding, other natural disasters, or quarantine,” said the press release. “Emergency loan funds may be used to restore or replace essential property; pay all or part of production costs associated with the disaster year; pay essential family living expenses; reorganize the farming operation; and refinance certain debts.
“With passage of the 2007 farm bill, of which Sen. Schumer was a very strong supporter, the Secretarial designation is even more important than in years past,” said the release. “With a new program created in the 2007 farm bill, farmers will automatically be compensated for lost crops if they are in a Secretarially-declared disaster area. Payments will vary depending on the type of crop, the extent of the damage, and the type of crop insurance that the farmer has. The program is new and regulations have not yet been written, so farmers will not be able to enroll yet.”
Other counties reporting damage include Albany, Dutchess, Erie, Greene, Monroe, Orange, Orleans, Putnam, Rensselaer, Rockland, Schoharie, Ulster, Wayne and Westchester.
McGivney, who is on the mend following heart surgery May 27, said farmers in the Kinderhook area suffered around $1 million worth of damage to tree fruits, berries and vegetables.
His reason for declaring the emergency is spelled out in the final sentence of the declaration’s final paragraph:
“I, hereby, direct all departments of the town of Kinderhook to take whatever steps necessary to protect life and property, public infrastructure and other such emergency assistance as deemed necessary. I hereby request the assistance of the county of Columbia, the state of New York and United States of America.”
McGivney hopes local farmers will get disaster relief to compensate for what some were describing as near-100-percent losses. The state of emergency went into effect 4 p.m., Monday, when the storm first hit the county.
Meanwhile, U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., urged the U.S. Department of Agriculture to make New York “a top priority” and “assist the state in its recovery efforts.” Columbia County was included in his list of 15 counties in the Hudson Valley and Western and Central New York reporting damage.
“Such damage imperils not only this year’s crop, but potentially future crops, based upon damage to the apple trees,” McGivney wrote in the emergency declaration.
Most of the severe damage to crops apparently occurred in Stuyvesant, Kinderhook and contingent parts of Chatham as a thunderstorm passed over Columbia County on its journey east.
The amount of damage depends on the type of hail, McGivney told the Register-Star. According to one farm’s survey, “every Macintosh got hit 10 times.”
“There are two types of hail. The regular type is round, marble-shaped and hard,” McGivney said. “The irregular shaped is sharp, and those did the worst damage. They chipped the bark.”
The farmers were out spraying with fungicides to try to save their trees for next year, he said. Hail also shredded the leaves of some trees. Damage to the leaves threatens the following year’s crop, while damage to the bark can permanently damage the tree.
“Our damages will be the cost of getting these corrections made,” the supervisor stated.
He said he was afraid Columbia County would get overlooked with all the attention paid to Western New York, where Schumer was this week.
McGivney sent the emergency declaration to Gov. David A. Paterson, New York Secretary of State Lorraine Cortes-Vazquez, state Sen. Steve Saland, R,C,I-Poughkeepsie, Assemblyman Tim Gordon, I-Bethlehem, U.S. Rep. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-Hudson, and U.S. Senators Hillary Clinton and Schumer.
According to his press release, Schumer “wrote a personal letter to Secretary of Agriculture Ed Schafer asking him to work immediately with Governor Paterson to provide technical assistance to promptly compile and report the potentially staggering losses and damages so that an informed decision can be made on whether to ask for a disaster declaration.
“I was in Western New York on Monday afternoon and experienced firsthand the golf ball-sized hail and severe weather that slammed residents across the region,” said Schumer. “Our farmers — the backbone of our economy — were the hardest hit, and when they’re hurting, the entire region suffers. We must work immediately to identify the losses and damages and determine if we need to declare the region a disaster area, which would make these farmers eligible for emergency loans and for the newly-created agricultural disaster program to help them get back on their feet.”
In regions designated disaster areas, farm operators would be eligible for low-interest emergency loans from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farm Service Agency.
“These emergency loans are designed to help producers recover from production and physical losses due to drought, flooding, other natural disasters, or quarantine,” said the press release. “Emergency loan funds may be used to restore or replace essential property; pay all or part of production costs associated with the disaster year; pay essential family living expenses; reorganize the farming operation; and refinance certain debts.
“With passage of the 2007 farm bill, of which Sen. Schumer was a very strong supporter, the Secretarial designation is even more important than in years past,” said the release. “With a new program created in the 2007 farm bill, farmers will automatically be compensated for lost crops if they are in a Secretarially-declared disaster area. Payments will vary depending on the type of crop, the extent of the damage, and the type of crop insurance that the farmer has. The program is new and regulations have not yet been written, so farmers will not be able to enroll yet.”
Other counties reporting damage include Albany, Dutchess, Erie, Greene, Monroe, Orange, Orleans, Putnam, Rensselaer, Rockland, Schoharie, Ulster, Wayne and Westchester.
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