SWMI Gets USDA Disaster Declaration

uptoncostanzafarms-3
uptoncostanzafarms-3

Farmers in three southwest Michigan counties will be eligible for help now that the U.S. Department of Agriculture has issued a secretarial disaster designation. Congressman Fred Upton called the announcement for Berrien, Cass, and St. Joseph counties “welcome news,” adding farmers have made it clear to him they have been suffering due to weather issues this year. Record rainfall prevented some crops from even going into the ground, and the prolonged wet conditions decimated the corn crop in the region. Extreme temperatures both hot and cold this year haven’t helped either, with the polar vortex in late January and early February nearly completely wiping out the peach crop. Upton says he will continue to push the USDA for a disaster designation for the rest of his district and all of Michigan.

According to the USDA, farmers and producers in Berrien, Cass, and St. Joseph counties are now “eligible to be considered for certain assistance from the Farm Service Agency, provided eligibility requirements are met.”