By Scott Mitchell Johnson
Staff Writer
WASHINGTON, D.C. — USDA Farm Services Agency officials in Maine are seeking an additional $1.6 million for northern Maine farmers who are struggling to repair crop damage following recent severe storms.
U.S. Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) sent a letter last Tuesday to the acting administrator of the Farm Service Agency (FSA) at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) urging him to support the request for additional assistance.
“I am writing in support of the request for additional Emergency Conservation Program funding for Aroostook County farmers who have sustained serious erosion in their fields on multiple occasions already this season,” wrote Collins. “Due to severe rainstorms and recurring flooding, USDA-Farm Service Agency officials in Maine have filed requests for $2 million in ECP funding for over 70 affected farmers.
“The severe rainstorms that Aroostook County has experienced have resulted in significant flooding which, in turn, has resulted in the loss of crops and the loss of topsoil. In fact, some fields have had the majority of the topsoil washed away. As you know, the loss of topsoil can be much more serious than a crop loss,” she said. “The loss of rich top soil can dramatically reduce the productive yield of acreage and will reduce the value of this farmland. The lost topsoil must be replaced. That Aroostook County has been battered by these damaging storms repeatedly over the past month underscores the importance and urgency of this disaster relief.”
At Collins’ and U.S. Sen. Olympia Snowe’s (R-Maine) request, FSA recently agreed to provide $400,000 through its Emergency Conservation Program to approximately 50 northern Maine farmers who suffered damage. The senator, an Aroostook County native, visited Caribou July 9-10 and saw first-hand how heavy rain and severe weather has caused topsoil in many fields to be completely washed away.
“By providing Emergency Conservation Program funds to help farmers repair the damage to their fields, the funding could mitigate the impact of these severe storms and stimulate the local economy by helping farmers hire workers to operate equipment and purchase fuel through local distributors,” said Collins.
“Given the effects of the recent storms, the damage caused, and the importance of this industry to the local and state economy,” she said, “I ask that you [Bruce Nelson, acting administrator of the USDA’s Farm Service Agency] review the additional request for ECP funding for these farmers as soon as possible.”
