NCC Joins on Appreciation Letters for House Disaster Assistance Bill

The NCC joined with other agricultural organizations to express their strong support and the urgent need for legislation to provide funding for emergency financial assistance.

Published: December 4, 2009
Updated: December 4, 2009

December 4, 2009

The Honorable Marion Berry
United States House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515

Dear Representative Berry:

The members of the below listed organizations include farmers, processors and related agri-businesses. We write to express our strong support and the urgent need for legislation to provide funding for emergency financial assistance. We appreciate your efforts to deliver much-needed financial assistance to farmers and rural communities to assist them in recovering from devastating losses caused by hurricanes, excessive rain during harvest and other natural disasters across the country, including catastrophic weather-related losses in the mid-South and neighboring states.

Soybeans, rice, cotton, peanuts, sweet potatoes and other crops and segments of the agricultural economy currently are experiencing devastating weather-related losses. In some cases, the 2009 losses follow on the heels of similar losses in 2008. To make the situation even worse, the rains in the Mid-South came during harvest so farmers had invested the maximum in inputs to bring the crops to completion only to suffer yield and quality losses, in addition to increased harvest expenses, which has resulted in severe financial stress. Processors and related businesses that rely upon robust production will operate at reduced levels or not at all, placing stress on small businesses and rural communities.

We believe the provisions in the legislation you have introduced with Representative Childers is the most effective means to deliver disaster assistance for most crops through a mechanism using the Direct Payment mechanism but limited to eligible growers in counties with a Secretarial disaster declaration. This system offers the advantage of covering yield and quality losses in a timely manner while placing minimal administrative burden on USDA. We understand there will necessarily be alternative means of providing assistance for losses associated with specialty crops, livestock and other sectors.

Although loss estimates are preliminary financial losses have already reached the hundreds of millions of dollars and are growing. Many producers need assistance within weeks to repay loans and secure new financing in time for spring planting, so prompt action is vitally important. We don’t believe alternative means of providing assistance can be delivered before late 2010 or early 2011. We are also pleased to note that the full projected cost of the assistance is off-set so there is no addition to the deficit.

We will also respectfully urge your colleagues to work with you to identify an appropriate legislative vehicle that could be enacted before the end of the current session of Congress to provide timely emergency financial assistance to farmers and ranchers who have suffered weather- related losses in 2009. We are keenly aware that there were significant losses resulting from 2008 hurricanes which caused serious crop losses and increased input costs that have not yet been compensated. 

Thank you for working to bring timely financial assistance to producers, processors and rural communities so that they will be able to continue to produce affordable food and fiber for our nation and make a significant contribution to our economy.

We look forward to working with you and your excellent staff to successfully complete this important work.

Sincerely,

American Soybean Association
National Cotton Council
Southern Peanut Farmers Federation
USA Rice Federation
US Rice Producers Association

December 4, 2009

The Honorable Travis Childers
United States House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515

Dear Representative Childers:

The members of the below listed organizations include farmers, processors and related agri-businesses. We write to express our strong support and the urgent need for legislation to provide funding for emergency financial assistance. We appreciate your efforts to deliver much-needed financial assistance to farmers and rural communities to assist them in recovering from devastating losses caused by hurricanes, excessive rain during harvest and other natural disasters across the country, including catastrophic weather-related losses in the mid-South and neighboring states.

Soybeans, rice, cotton, peanuts, sweet potatoes and other crops and segments of the agricultural economy currently are experiencing devastating weather-related losses. In some cases, the 2009 losses follow on the heels of similar losses in 2008. To make the situation even worse, the rains in the Mid-South came during harvest so farmers had invested the maximum in inputs to bring the crops to completion only to suffer yield and quality losses, in addition to increased harvest expenses, which has resulted in severe financial stress. Processors and related businesses that rely upon robust production will operate at reduced levels or not at all, placing stress on small businesses and rural communities.

We believe the provisions in the legislation you have introduced with Representative Berry is the most effective means to deliver disaster assistance for most crops through a mechanism using the Direct Payment mechanism but limited to eligible growers in counties with a Secretarial disaster declaration. This system offers the advantage of covering yield and quality losses in a timely manner while placing minimal administrative burden on USDA. We understand there will necessarily be alternative means of providing assistance for losses associated with specialty crops, livestock and other sectors.

Although loss estimates are preliminary financial losses have already reached the hundreds of millions of dollars and are growing. Many producers need assistance within weeks to repay loans and secure new financing in time for spring planting, so prompt action is vitally important. We don’t believe alternative means of providing assistance can be delivered before late 2010 or early 2011. We are also pleased to note that the full projected cost of the assistance is off-set so there is no addition to the deficit.

We will also respectfully urge your colleagues to work with you to identify an appropriate legislative vehicle that could be enacted before the end of the current session of Congress to provide timely emergency financial assistance to farmers and ranchers who have suffered weather- related losses in 2009. We are keenly aware that there were significant losses resulting from 2008 hurricanes which caused serious crop losses and increased input costs that have not yet been compensated. 

Thank you for working to bring timely financial assistance to producers, processors and rural communities so that they will be able to continue to produce affordable food and fiber for our nation and make a significant contribution to our economy.

We look forward to working with you and your excellent staff to successfully complete this important work.

Sincerely,

American Soybean Association
National Cotton Council
Southern Peanut Farmers Federation
USA Rice Federation
US Rice Producers Association