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Aderholt Statement in Response to Announced Federal Aid for Alabama Farmers, Ranchers
Friday August 17, 2007WASHINGTON, D.C. – Late yesterday afternoon, the U.S. Department of Agriculture Farm Service Agency (FSA) announced that they are distributing $1,049,300 million in new Emergency Conservation Program (ECP) funding to help farmers and ranchers in 28 counties in Alabama to rehabilitate land damaged by drought.
ECP provides emergency funding and technical assistance for farmers and ranchers to rehabilitate farmland damaged by natural disasters and for carrying out emergency water conservation measures in periods of severe drought. FSA county committees determine land eligibility based on on-site inspections of damage, taking into account the type and extent of damage.
The counties in Alabama that were selected by the FSA for ECP funding include Barbour, Blount, Bullock, Calhoun, Clay, Cleburne, Colbert, Coosa, Dale, Elmore, Fayette, Franklin, Geneva, Henry, Jackson, Jefferson, Lamar, Lauderdale, Lawrence, Limestone, Marion, Montgomery, Morgan, Pike, Randolph, Tallapoosa, Walker and Winston.
For information regarding the ECP sign up period and eligibility requirements, please contact your local FSA office and online at http://www.fsa.usda.gov.
Congressman Robert Aderholt (R-Haleyville) offered the following statement in response to the announcement:
“Alabama is facing one of the most severe droughts in the history of our state. The damage being done to our farms and ranches is in many cases unparalleled. While yesterday’s announcement by FSA provides some measure of relief, more needs to be done before the drought passes the point of no return for our farmers and ranchers. I have joined my Alabama House colleagues in requesting a meeting with USDA Secretary Mike Johanns to further discuss what USDA can do to aid farmers. We will also continue to seek emergency federal funding so we can provide direct relief to those in need as soon as possible.”