WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has granted their request to provide federal assistance to Minnesota farmers overwhelmed by significant wet weather during last fall’s harvest. Beltrami, Clearwater, Kittson, Marshall, Nobles, Polk, and Yellow Medicine counties are all now eligible to apply for assistance from the USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA), including FSA emergency loans.
“Heavy rain and flooding made last fall a particularly challenging harvest for our state’s farmers and producers, killing crops and causing uncertainty for Minnesotan families,” Klobuchar said. “This disaster declaration will expedite much-needed assistance to struggling communities who faced crop quality losses and lost income due to the extreme weather last year.”
“Farmers already face enough uncertainty even before factoring in difficult weather conditions. But last year’s severe rainfall and flooding created additional harvest challenges for many Minnesota farmers,” Smith said. “I urged Secretary Perdue to declare a disaster designation for areas suffering from those weather events. I encourage producers in the seven designated counties to apply for assistance from the USDA Farm Service Agency.”
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