Governor, North Dakota delegation push for disaster declaration

Gov. Doug Burgum, working alongside State Agriculture Commissioner Doug Goehring, and backed by North Dakota’s congressional delegation, has asked U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue for a secretarial disaster declaration to make available federal assistance to farmers struggling with the extremely wet harvest.

“The unusual and relentless wet weather pattern has created an overwhelming situation for many North Dakota farmers and ranchers. It has been one of the toughest seasons on record,” Goehring said.

According to a Friday, Nov. 1, news release by Burgum’s office, 47 of North Dakota’s 53 counties report meeting the threshold that could qualify them for a secretarial disaster designation. That threshold is a minimum 30% loss of at least one crop due to a natural disaster. Morton and Billings counties report losses under the threshold but are eligible to be included in the declaration due to the inability to secure commercial financing to cover the losses.

Six other counties, Barnes, Burleigh, Dickey, Logan, McLean and Richland, have requested a deferral from the secretary to give producers more time to harvest crops and determine if there is a loss.

“We’re committed to making sure North Dakota’s farmers and ranchers have access to every available resource to cope with these unprecedented and miserably wet fall harvest conditions,” Burgum said in the news release.

According to the news release, excessive rain, the early October blizzard and flooding have caused hundreds of millions of dollars in commodity losses across the state, according to estimates reported to the Farm Services Agency.

North Dakota’s congressional delegation urged Perdue to approve the state’s request. Senators John Hoeven, Kevin Cramer and Rep. Kelly Armstrong jointly sent a letter to Perdue expressing their support.

“Unprecedented September rain and an early October snowstorm have combined to give North Dakota farmers a terrible harvest season. With a secretarial designation, producers will be able to access disaster relief that is essential in helping them recover from these events which are beyond their control,” Armstrong said.

WHIP+ was authorized as part of the Additional Supplemental Appropriations for Disaster Relief Act of 2019. It covers crop losses due to natural disasters for the years 2018 and 2019. The secretarial declaration would allow producers to apply for financial relief under the program. Producers in counties not included in the disaster declaration also may apply under the program, but must provide additional documentation that any crop loss was due to a qualifying natural disaster.

“It’s just easier for all people,” said Terry Miller, the county executive director for the Grand Forks County Farm Services Agency, about the WHIP+ program. “It just makes the process easier to administer."

Grazing and livestock losses are covered by other FSA disaster recovery programs and are therefore not eligible for recovery under the WHIP+ program.

“We are continuing to look at solutions for other situations that may not be covered by a secretarial designation,” Goehring said.

More information can be found at farmers.gov for more information on the WHIP+ program.