By Marlee Jackson
(334) 613-4219

Specialty crop farmers who suffered significant losses due to freezing March temperatures are now eligible for disaster assistance from the Farm Service Agency (FSA).

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has included 51 Alabama counties in its recent Crop Production Loss Disaster Declaration, thanks to urging from the Alabama Farmers Federation, Alabama Fruit & Vegetable Growers Association, Gov. Kay Ivey and the Alabama Department of Agriculture & Industries.

“Farmers don’t want to rely on federal assistance, but isolated, extreme weather events like the extended cold in March have handicapped many growers for this season,” said the Federation’s Blake Thaxton, who works with specialty crop farmers. “This designation will help our growing slate of fruit and vegetable farmers rebuild after a challenging year. We appreciate this swift action from Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, Gov. Ivey and Commissioner of Agriculture Rick Pate.”

Primary affected areas include Baldwin, Blount, Chilton, Clarke, Cullman, Elmore, Escambia, Etowah, Henry, Houston, Mobile, Montgomery, Morgan, Russell, Tallapoosa and Washington counties.

Contiguous counties are Autauga, Barbour, Bibb, Bullock, Calhoun, Chambers, Cherokee,Choctaw, Clay, Conecuh, Coosa, Covington, Crenshaw, Dale,Dallas, DeKalb, Geneva, Jefferson, Lawrence, Lee, Limestone,Lowndes, Macon, Madison, Marengo, Marshall, Monroe, Perry,Pike, Randolph, St. Clair, Shelby, Walker, Wilcox and Winston.

Farmers in these counties now have eight months to apply for FSA emergency loans.

Thaxton noted the disaster designation is the first step to ensure producers are eligible for additional direct assistance, which could be provided by USDA or Congress.

In her request to USDA’s Vilsack, Ivey noted extreme freezes March 18-20 hammered the state’s blueberry and peach crops in southwest and central Alabama, respectively. Strawberry plants were also stunted.

“This much-needed disaster designation will help these hardworking men and women recover from lost crops resulting from an unpredictable change of temperature,” Ivey said. “I know this will help a good deal, and I am certainly proud to have the backs of our farmers during this recovery process and always.”

To apply for disaster assistance, visit a local FSA office.