Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
INDIANAPOLIS -Indiana Gov. Frank O'Bannon and Lt. Gov. Joe Kernan asked that 67 Indiana counties be declared agricultural disaster areas. Kosciusko County is included on the list sent to Dan Glickman, secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture."Today's crop report confirms drought conditions in many areas of our state," O'Bannon said. "This imposes a particular hardship for Hoosier producers who already face extremely low crop prices on top of low yields."
According to the USDA September crop production forecast, Indiana's corn crop is expected to be 736 million bushels, or 3 percent below the 760.4 million bushels harvested in 1998. The expected overall yield of 128 bushels per acre is nine bushels below last year's average.
Soybean production is forecast at 227 million bushels, down 3 percent from last year's record crop of 235.2 million bushels. Overall, soybean yields are predicted to be 40 bushels per acre, or one bushel per acre less than last year.
To qualify for a disaster declaration, a state must predict crop yields in some counties that are at least 30 percent below average.
"We will not see a 30 percent loss statewide, but there are some areas that will experience a 40 to 50 percent crop loss, Kernan said. "Counties contiguous to disaster counties are automatically eligible for the same assistance."
If granted, the disaster declaration request will open the door to federal disaster relief in the form of low-interest loans to eligible farmers.
