Strain: State still waiting for funds

• By SARAH CHACKO
• Advocate Capitol News Bureau
• Published: Nov 20, 2009 - Page: 10A

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The state agriculture department should have nearly all of $44.5 million in disaster recovery grants and loans in farmers’ hands by Christmas, the head of the agency told legislators Thursday.

However, the state is still waiting for the federal government to push relief money through the federal Supplemental Revenue Assistance Program, Commissioner Mike Strain said.

“To this date, not one dollar has moved from the SURE program to help our farmers,” Strain said.

The rules for the SURE program were not created when the federal Farm Bill was passed last year and are still not finished, he said.

Last year’s hurricanes Gustav and Ike and Tropical Storm Faye cost Louisiana farmers about $1 billion, according to estimates from the LSU Ag Center. Strain said Gustav was the largest agricultural disaster in Louisiana history.

Crop revenue losses continued in 2009 with a drought in the early part of the year, and at least $275 million in crop damage caused by heavy rainfall this harvest season, an initial estimate from the LSU Ag Center shows.

Louisiana Recovery Authority director Paul Rainwater said that of Louisiana’s $1 billion federal grant allocation for hurricanes Gustav and Ike recovery, $54.8 million went to agricultural recovery. Of that, $44.5 million went into a loan and grant program.

“So far, this is the only relief our farmers have received,” Strain said.

More than 1,200 farmers and agribusinesses applied for $120 million in aid, Strain said. With the limited funding, each applicant received only about 35 percent of what they requested, he said.

Louisiana will receive about $200 million in agriculture and rural community relief through the federal stimulus plan to help farmers purchase the insurance coverage needed to qualify for the SURE program, according to information from the LRA.

Strain said he also has asked the U.S. Department of Agriculture to designate Louisiana parishes as disaster areas because of the drought and heavy rainfall this year. He expects 63 parishes will be eligible for the designation, which would allow farmers and ranchers to be eligible for federal aid.

Members of the Senate agriculture committee and the chairman of the House agriculture committee charged the LRA, the state agriculture department, LSU and Southern University AgCenters and other related agencies to look for any federal funding sources now before the next disaster hits.

“If we didn’t do it now, we would be late in securing the needs of our farmers in our state next year,” Senate agriculture committee chairman Francis Thompson said.