Published: August 19, 2007 09:06 pm         

W.Va. drought disaster area could swell by 10 counties

CHARLESTON — Drought-weary West Virginia farmers and gardeners need another $200,000 to boost relief efforts, Deputy Agriculture Commissioner Steve Hannah advised lawmakers Sunday.

Hannah suggested the original 42 counties included in the official disaster area as sought by Gov. Joe Manchin could swell by another eight or 10, as the protracted dry spell deepens with no significant rain in the forecast.

Originally, the state was allotted $250,000 to assist with the parched counties, but Hannah told the Agriculture and Agri-Business Committee that matters have worsened far beyond what had been anticipated.

“Other counties are indicating major disaster problems,” he said.

Each county has an emergency board consisting of the Extension Service, the Farm Service Agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the National Resource Conservation Service, along with a local county emergency operations center.

Within each county, the agencies pool efforts to conduct an assessment of the loss of crops or damage to livestock, he explained.

“They try to do as accurate an assessment as they can,” he said. “This is how they arrive at a percentage loss in counties.”

Hannah said farmers aren’t losing livestock at this stage, but “some are culling cattle more than they would prefer to do simply because they don’t have pastures right now. Many of them are feeding hay, so they know that they’re going to be short of feed this winter,” the deputy commissioner said.

Vegetable farmers have witnessed “a drastic reduction” in this year’s crops because of the hot, dry weather, he said.

That loss ranges from 30 percent to 60 percent in most parts of West Virginia, he said.

Once a county’s drought losses are assessed, efforts are made to get water to the affected areas, with a 50-50 cost-sharing program between the state and the NCRS.

Hannah advanced a suggestion by the West Virginia Poultry Association for a program to reimburse poultry farmers for losses incurred by the avian flu. So far, one firm suffered a loss in Pendleton County, and the concern led the state to cancel sales at fairs and to ban live fowl from its traditional exhibit at the West Virginia State Fair last week.

The deputy commissioner suggested that any such fund require participation from the industry.

“We’d have to be sure they’re putting in their fair share,” he added.