Washington, D.C. –U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Ann Veneman has named three more Wyoming counties drought disaster areas, making them eligible for federal assistance, according to U.S. Senator Mike Enzi, R-Wyo.
In a March 1 letter to Governor Jim Geringer also sent to Enzi, Venemen designated Albany County as a primary natural disaster area and Laramie and Platte Counties as contiguous or neighboring disaster counties.
"It is evident there were sufficient production losses to warrant a Secretarial disaster designation," wrote Veneman.
The designation is for help with problems resulting from drought in 2001 and continuing. Forecasters at the National Weather Service say the outlook for relief is not good. In this third year of drought, snowpack in some parts of the state is less than half of normal. Irrigators and even municipalities are preparing for water shortages.
Last year Veneman, after a request from Geringer and encouragement from Enzi, determined 12 Wyoming Counties and the Wind River Indian Reservation were primary natural disaster areas and seven were secondary areas. Her latest designation puts the whole state in one of these categories.
Farmers and ranchers in the primary counties will be eligible to be considered for low-interest emergency loans from the Farm Service Agency (FSA). The declaration also designates bordering counties as secondary disaster areas, allowing farm and ranch operators in secondary counties to apply for low-interest loans as well.
Enzi and other lawmakers also added an amendment to the Farm Bill last month that would put $500 million of emergency funding in the Livestock Assistance Program (LAP) to help ranchers with their 2001 losses. Enzi also was able to add an amendment that would authorize up to $500 million per fiscal year from 2003 to 2008 for the LAP.
LAP provides financial relief to livestock producers that are experiencing livestock production loss due to drought and other disasters. Last year Wyoming counties were eligible, but no funding for LAP was appropriated.
A Senate-House conference is resolving differences between each chamber's version of the Farm Bill before sending its report back to each body for a vote. Enzi is hopeful the LAP funding will remain in the bill through the final stages of the legislative process and become available for ranchers after the bill is signed into law.
For more information regarding the drought designations please contact the Farm Service Agency at 307-261-5231.
