(emphasis mine) [my comment]

November 18, 2009
79 counties declared disaster
$500M in Miss. crops damaged by heavy rain, drought
LaRaye Brown

The federal government on Tuesday agreed to assist the state's farmers after excessive rains in the spring and fall and a summer drought damaged nearly $500 million in crops.

The Department of Agriculture designated 79 of the state's 82 counties natural disaster areas, opening the doors for farmers to apply for federal assistance programs. Farmers in three other counties - Kemper, Neshoba and Newton - also will be able to apply for assistance because they are contiguous to those declared primary disaster areas.

Among the state's five largest crops - soybeans, corn, cotton, rice and sweet potatoes - losses total more than $459.4 million, Mississippi State University's Agricultural Extension Service estimates show.

Tuesday's disaster declaration gives farmers up to eight months to apply for low-interest loans. They also can apply for the Supplemental Revenue Assistance Program, or SURE.

If approved for SURE, farmers could receive grant payments to help make up for revenue losses not covered by crop insurance. In order to apply for SURE, farmers must have crop insurance.

"It's a start," said George King, who farms in Chatham, about 25 miles south of Greenville, a region of the state hit hard by excessive rainfall. He won't be sure how he feels about the declaration until he learns more about the programs being offered. "A lot of those programs are hard to qualify for."

In this, his 22nd crop, King got only 40 percent of his expected yield on cotton and had to leave some soybean acreage unharvested because of excessive damage. This was the first time he had to plow over crops.

It's been a year of painful firsts for many farmers. Spring rains forced them to plant late or washed away seeds, leading many to replant.

Recent unseasonably heavy rains kept farmers from harvesting. What was harvested was of poorer quality and - in many instances - excessive moisture rotted crops which had to be plowed over.

To qualify for the declaration, counties had to show at least 30 percent crop damage.

The state office of the Farm Service Agency did not release information about losses in counties. But MSU Extension Service figures show many crops will take substantial hits this year.

The state's sweet potato crop is expected to record about a 64 percent loss. Soybeans are down nearly 44 percent and cotton suffered a 48 percent value loss.

The Daily Comet reports that disaster declaration for farm losses in 5 states.

Disaster declaration for farm losses in 5 states
The Associated Press
Published: Wednesday, November 18, 2009 at 7:00 a.m.
Last Modified: Wednesday, November 18, 2009 at 7:00 a.m.

JACKSON, Miss. - Federal agriculture authorities have declared disaster areas in parts of Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee due to crop losses from a combination of severe spring and fall flooding and summer drought.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said the declaration will "provide help to hundreds of farmers who suffered significant production losses to a wide variety of crops."

The declaration qualifies many farmers in the designated areas for low interest emergency loans from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Farm Service Agency.

The primary disaster areas are in 79 Mississippi counties and contiguous counties and parishes in the other states.
…
To qualify for the declaration, counties and parishes in the five states had to show at least 30 percent crop damage.

"Unless something equivalent to the wasted money that we put into the (banking) bailout is done for farmers, they are going to have a long, difficult road, after which they still may not be able to come out of this," said Ernie Flint, an agronomist with MSU's Extension Service.

Flint said many farmers had debt before this season and giving them new loans - even if they are low interest - will only add to the burden.

Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour began the process of getting the disaster declaration last month when he wrote a letter to the USDA asking the state's Farm Service Agency to begin tallying damages.

"While I am pleased these areas can qualify for much-needed assistance, we have to understand this crop disaster will continue to put downward pressure on tax revenues," Barbour said in a statement Tuesday. "The important agriculture sector faces a long road to recovery, just as does the state's economy as a whole."

The Daily Comet reports that USDA designates 79 Mississippi counties as disaster areas.

79 Mississippi counties disaster areas
Nov 17, 2009 4:50 PM

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has designated 79 counties in Mississippi as primary natural disaster areas due to losses caused by the combined effects of severe spring and fall flooding, and summer drought, that occurred March 1, 2009, and continuing.

The 79 counties are:

Adams, Alcorn, Amite, Attala, Benton, Bolivar, Calhoun, Carroll, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Claiborne, Clarke, Clay, Coahoma, Copiah, Covington, De Soto,

Forrest, Franklin, George, Greene, Grenada, Hancock, Harrison, Hinds, Holmes, Humphreys, Issaquena, Itawamba, Jackson, Jasper, Jefferson, Jefferson Davis, Jones,

Lafayette, Lamar, Lauderdale, Lawrence, Leake, Lee, Leflore, Lincoln, Lowndes, Madison, Marion, Marshall, Monroe, Montgomery, Noxubee, Oktibbeha,

Panola, Pearl River, Perry, Pike, Pontotoc, Prentiss, Quitman, Rankin, Scott, Sharkey, Simpson, Smith, Stone, Sunflower,

Tallahatchie, Tate, Tippah, Tishomingo, Tunica, Union, Walthall, Warren, Washington, Wayne, Webster, Wilkinson, Winston, Yalobusha, and Yazoo.

“President Obama and I understand these conditions caused severe damage to the area and serious harm to farms in Mississippi and we want to help,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. “This action will provide help to hundreds of farmers who suffered significant production losses to a wide variety of crops including corn, cotton, rice, soybeans, wheat, pasture and forage crops.”

Farm operators in Kemper, Neshoba and Newton counties in Mississippi also qualify for natural disaster assistance because their counties are contiguous.

Farm operators in the counties and parishes listed below in the adjacent states of Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana and Tennessee also qualify for natural disaster assistance because their counties are contiguous.

Alabama: Choctaw, Colbert, Franklin, Lamar, Lauderdale, Marion, Mobile, Pickens, Sumter and Washington.

Arkansas: Chicot, Crittenden, Desha, Lee and Phillips.

Louisiana: Concordia, East Carroll, East Feliciana, Madison, St. Helena, St. Tammany, Tangipahoa, Tensas, Washington and West Feliciana.

Tennessee: Fayette, Hardeman, Hardin, McNairy and Shelby.

All counties and parishes listed above were designated natural disaster areas Nov. 13, making all qualified farm operators in the designated areas eligible for low interest emergency (EM) loans from USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA), provided eligibility requirements are met.

Below is the updated graphic showing counties designated as disaster areas by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (data from USDA).

My reaction: The USDA has basically designated the entire state of Mississippi as a natural disaster area.

But don’t worry, the USDA is also projecting a near record Mississippi soybean crop (sarcasm)! Just look at the chart below.



Conclusion: According to the USDA, both of the following is true:

1) 79 of the Mississippi’s 82 counties have suffered at least 30 percent crop damage.
2) Mississippi soybean production is only going to fall 1.7% from last year's record breaking crop.

Amazing…