Help is on the way for Alabama farmers

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WSFA) - Governor Kay Ivey and Commissioner Rick Pate announced the U.S. Department of Agriculture issued a disaster designation for portions of Alabama at Governor Ivey’s request. Last week, the governor sent a request to the secretary of USDA for a disaster designation due to a drop in temperatures during a period in March.

“Our department has worked closely with the Governor’s Office and USDA leadership over the past week. We have learned of numerous impacts to the fruit and vegetable industry based on the late March freeze. We want to thank Governor Ivey and our federal partners for expediting the secretarial disaster designation,” says Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industries Commissioner Rick Pate

The counties impacted by the designation are as follows:

• Direct: Baldwin, Cullman, Henry, Morgan, Blount, Elmore, Houston, Russell, Chilton, Escambia, Mobile, Tallapoosa, Clarke, Etowah, Montgomery and Washington
• Contiguous: 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
• Adjacent state contiguous counties: (FL) Okaloosa; (GA) Early, Clay, Stewart

“Alabama’s farmers are vital to Alabamians and Americans alike. They put the food on our tables and are a center point of our economy. This much needed disaster designation will help these hardworking men and women recover from lost crops resulting from an unpredictable change of temperature. 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,” Said Gov. Ivey.

Governor Ivey’s May 19th letter

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