Farmers face disastrous spring

COEUR d'ALENE - The Kootenai County commissioners declared an agricultural disaster emergency in the county on Tuesday, due to the excessive wet conditions over the past several months.

The declaration will be forwarded to Gov. Butch Otter, for him to consider requesting a U.S. Department of Agriculture disaster designation.

A federal designation is the end hope, Commissioner Dan Green confirmed, which would allow eligible farmers and land owners to apply for federal assistance to compensate for crops and income that have suffered from the flooded season.

"The board's job is to support Kootenai County residents," Green said. "If there are federal programs that offer assistance in times of emergency, we want to facilitate that process."

The North Idaho office of the USDA Farm Service Agency recommended the commissioners' declaration.

Between 15,000 and 18,000 acres of crop land in Kootenai County won't be planted this year, said Scott Riggers, director of the North Idaho FSA.

"It's been a horrific year, for just trying to get their crops seeded," Riggers said. "Some of them (crop lands) were seeded later than normal. Some have not been seeded at all, and will not be able to be seeded, because the ground is so wet."

The issue is prevalent across North Idaho, Riggers said, adding that Latah, Benewah, Nez Perce, Lewis and Idaho counties are also declaring agricultural states of emergencies.

"Almost every county is in the same situation," Riggers said.

The spring seeded crops are most affected by the weather, he said, including spring wheat, spring barley, lentils, green peas, oats and hay.

The loss this growing season could have a staggering impact on some farmers, Riggers said.

"Take the price of wheat as it is today, the commodity prices are fairly high," he said. "If you get to multiplying the price of commodities today and the number of acres, it gets to be significant."

Athol hay farmer Sam Scheu said many crops on his 320 acres are behind, the result of excess moisture and frost.

"I have some fields that are probably at about 60 percent of where they should be, and I have some fields that are doing pretty good," he said. "My average is going to go down."

If yields are down, Scheu acknowledged, his income will be, too.

But he won't be sure if assistance will be necessary, he added, until he sees how his crops pull through the summer.

The heavy moisture is at least a change from a long drought cycle that preceded the last few years, Scheu said.

"We've been pretty desperate for a long time having droughts every year, that this is actually somewhat of an over indulgence in moisture," Scheu said with a chuckle.

Farmers and landowners can apply for assistance through the FSA.

For more information, call the North Idaho office in Plummer at: 686-1260.

How many dollars will be provided in assistance is not yet known, Riggers said.

If the Secretary of Agriculture approves the state of emergency, Riggers said, the secretary will implement whatever disaster relief programs Congress has approved.

Farmers will receive assistance in roughly a year, Riggers added.

Individuals can only apply after all crops are harvested and all production is in, he explained.

"The individual farmer can come in and say, 'This was my productions, it was down, we recognized it, the county commissioners recognized it, the area was approved as a disaster,'" he said. "Then we do all the paperwork, and hopefully we can get them assistance."