CHICAGO - Governor Pat Quinn today announced that United States Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack has declared six eastern Illinois counties as federal disaster areas following a May 21 hailstorm that destroyed the area's strawberry crop. The declaration makes farmers in these counties eligible for federal disaster assistance, primarily low-interest loans. The action was taken after Governor Quinn submitted a request to Secretary Vilsack for a disaster declaration.
"When Illinois farmers hurt, we all hurt, no matter what crops they are growing," Governor Quinn said. "While this declaration won't replace the lost strawberry crop in eastern Illinois, it will help farmers who were devastated by this storm to recover."
The late May hailstorm didn't widely affect the traditional crops of corn and soybeans in the area. However, the strawberry crop was reaching maturity at that time and was especially vulnerable to damage from large hailstones. The entire crop, located primarily in Vermilion County, was destroyed. Federal agricultural disaster declarations extend to contiguous counties, so the Illinois counties of Champaign, Douglas, Edgar, Ford and Iroquois and the Indiana counties of Benton, Vermillion and Warren were also included.
"The damage from this storm was isolated, but severe," Illinois Department of Agriculture Director Bob Flider said. "The low-interest, emergency loans the disaster declaration triggers could help farmers who are suffering cash flow problems because of crop losses. They can be used to pay not only production expenses, but also family living expenses."
Those who suffered crop losses from the May 21 storm have eight months to apply for loans from the Farm Service Agency, a division of the United States Department of Agriculture.
In the last five years, Illinois has suffered from 11 natural disasters, including a record drought in 2012; deadly tornadoes in 2012 and 2013; historic winter storms earlier this year; and floods, including the spring 2013 flooding in 49 counties that broke all-time records on four major river systems. Under Governor Quinn's leadership the state of Illinois has managed response to these disasters, often providing state assistance when outdated rules did not permit federal assistance to be offered. Last year, Governor Quinn was appointed to the President's Task Force on Climate Preparedness and Resilience. The task force recommends ways to strengthen the way states and the nation respond to natural disasters.
Source: Illinois Department of Agriculture