**Testimony of Ken Givens, Commissioner**

**Tennessee Department of Agriculture**

**Before the U.S. House of Representatives**

**Committee on Agriculture**

**October 25, 2007**

Mr. Chairman, members of the committee, my name is Ken Givens and I
serve as Commissioner of Agriculture for the State of Tennessee, and
it's my privilege to be here this morning to offer testimony on how the
drought is affecting agriculture in our state. Thank you for letting me
share this information with you.

First, I want to express a special thanks to you, Chairman Peterson, for
your recent visit to Middle Tennessee to witness firsthand some of the
extensive damage that our horticultural industry has suffered as a
result of weather extremes this year. Nursery and greenhouse products
are our second leading crop and generate \$273 million in farm cash
receipts annually. Like all of our farm sectors, the nursery and
greenhouse industry has suffered a devastating blow from both a hard
spring freeze and the drought. Because of the multi-year investment that
this sector of agriculture represents, the impact will be felt for years
to come.

I also want to thank and recognize Congressman Lincoln Davis for
inviting me to report on damages experienced by farmers in all of
Tennessee's 95 counties. Congressman Davis is a former colleague of mine
in the Tennessee General Assembly and a fellow farmer.

To the entire committee, I want to thank you for focusing on this issue.
As a former legislator who served 14 years in the Tennessee General
Assembly and seven of those years as Chairman of the House Agriculture
Committee, I understand the importance of these hearings and appreciate
the job you are doing to support agriculture.

As a farmer, I also appreciate the fact that you recognize that our
producers are foundational to the security and safety of our food, fuel
and fiber system. I grew up the son of sharecroppers in Hawkins County,
Tennessee in the Northeast portion of the state, on a diversified dairy,
tobacco and row crop farm. Today, "diversified" is a fancy term for a
farm that produces many different things, but back then we were
"diversified" simply because we had to scratch a living out of whatever
we could grow and sell. As a young boy, when I wasn't in school, I was
milking twice a day and working tobacco or whatever was in season at the
time. Today, my family still has farming interests in Hawkins County
where we raise beef cattle.

As someone who grew up farming, I know firsthand how weather extremes
can affect both row crop and livestock producers. In my lifetime of
farming, I've never seen anything like what we have experienced and are
continuing to experience in Tennessee.

Actually, the drought and weather extremes we've experienced this year
are the continuation of drought conditions experienced by several
counties over the past two years. In 2005, we had 23 counties designated
agricultural disasters by USDA due to drought and high temperatures. In
2006, we had another 41 counties, primarily in East Tennessee and
southern Middle Tennessee, designated agricultural disasters primarily
as a result of drought and unseasonably high temperatures.

What distinguishes the 2007 growing season from all others is the fact
that we've really had three disasters in one and the fact that the
impacts have cut across all sectors of agriculture and all geographical
regions.

This year, early planting started off with unseasonably warm, dry
weather -- enabling farmers to get out early to prepare fields and to
plant corn. Unfortunately, the corn crop was at a vulnerable stage of
development when a hard spring freeze struck in early April. For a
period of several days, Tennessee experienced record low temperatures
statewide, not only damaging the early corn crop, but also decimating
our fruit crops -- as much as 90 percent of apples, peaches, grapes and
berries of all kinds were lost. The freeze had a devastating impact on
our nursery and greenhouse industry, leaving growers with millions of
dollars worth of unmarketable trees and shrubs, representing lost income
in many cases two and three years away. The winter wheat crop was
severely damaged, reducing yields by 25 percent and costing producers
more than \$10 million for that crop alone.

Livestock producers were not left untouched either. Pastures and hay
crops were severely stunted, forcing producers to feed more hay in the
spring than normal, depleting hay stocks in anticipation of a green up
that never came.

In April, due to extensive freeze damages, Governor Phil Bredesen asked
for a secretarial designation of agricultural disaster for all 95
counties, which was granted by USDA.

May turned from bad to worse as we headed into the prime growing season
with below normal rainfall, stunting development of every crop. The
drought continued throughout the growing season as the rainfall deficit
rose to a statewide average of 16 inches or more. And, going into the
fall, 99 percent of Tennessee was in either a stage 3 or stage 4
drought, with most of state rated exceptionally dry.

There was not a sector of agriculture left unaffected. In fact, crop
conditions and livestock conditions were compounded by record high
temperatures during the month of August. A significant portion of the
state experienced a record number of 100-plus degree days, making August
the hottest month on record.

Already stressed crops like corn, soybeans, tobacco, hay and even
cotton, baked in the soaring temperatures. Following heavy freeze
damages in our nursery industry, the drought further inflicted heavy
horticultural losses as growers simply could not irrigate enough to
protect their investment.

Livestock production accounts for half of farm income in Tennessee.
Cattle and calves represent the largest generator of farm income with
annual sales of \$500 million. The impacts to this sector were just as
severe as to our crop sector.

The spring hay cutting was drastically reduced, as much as 50 percent,
while livestock farmers were forced to feed hay in the middle summer to
sustain their herds. In the months of June and July, Tennessee
experienced a 60 percent increase in the sale of cattle, 143 percent
increase in the number of cows sold, compared to the same period last
year as farmers were forced to cull herds due to the lack of pasture and
hay. Currently, hay stocks in Tennessee are at a record low, with more
than 80 percent rated short or very short going into the winter months
with little or no prospect for a fall hay cutting.

Many livestock producers have been hauling water since mid-summer as
wells, ponds and creeks have simply gone dry. The high cost of
transporting hay from other states and the continued stress of water
shortages are forcing livestock producers to make hard decisions such as
whether to sell cattle at a loss or try to survive an uncertain winter.

Again, at the request of Governor Bredesen, in July, all 95 counties
were designated an agricultural disaster by USDA due to drought
conditions.

When all is said and done, this is likely to be the most devastating
agricultural disaster in our state's history -- an estimated \$40
million in losses for corn, \$93 million in soybeans, \$22 million in
cotton, \$8 million in tobacco, \$100 million in hay production.
Industry estimates put nursery and greenhouse losses at more than \$100
million, not to mention millions of dollars in losses in the fruit,
vegetable, winter wheat and agritourism sectors.

The livestock losses are much harder to calculate, but considering
reduced milk production, lost weight gain on calves, the premature
selling of cattle, increased feed costs and lost hay production, the
cost to livestock producers will be in the hundreds of millions of
dollars, not including what it will take to rebuild Tennessee's cattle
herd in the future.

Farm income in Tennessee totals more than \$2.5 billion annually. With a
conservative \$750 million in total losses, we're talking about 30
percent of Tennessee agricultural industry at the farm level alone. The
impact to Tennessee's rural economy will be felt for years to come as
this loss will ripple through local communities that depend on farm
income.

I'm not here today to ask for your help without first being willing to
do my fair share and asking the same of our farmers. Tennessee has one
of the most, if not the most generous farm cost share program in the
nation. In 2005, Governor Bredesen established the Tennessee
Agricultural Enhancement Program to help spur farm investment in our
state in areas that have potential for growth and development. Today,
with the support of Governor Bredesen and the Tennessee General
Assembly, \$26 million in annual state appropriations are helping
Tennessee farmers improve cattle management by providing 35 percent of
the cost of genetic improvements, cattle handling and feed equipment
purchases, and hay storage facilities.

We're also helping farmers diversify to new and promising areas of
agriculture like fruits and vegetables, organics, grapes, horticulture,
specialty livestock and agritourism. We're making the kind of
investments that will help minimize the impacts of weather extremes in
the future and help increase farm income.

However, the magnitude of this disaster is beyond the state's ability to
help Tennessee farmers to the extent that they can recover from these
losses without financial ruin in some cases.

The low-interest emergency loans provided as a result of the disaster
designations granted by USDA will help and are appreciated, but the
truth is they are of nominal benefit to Tennessee producers. We produce
a number of non-program crops and livestock that simply are not
supported through traditional farm programs. However, if there was a
time for federal assistance to help us sustain this vital industry for
our state, the time is now.

I am here today to ask for your support for a disaster assistance
package for southeastern farmers. We need a disaster assistance package
specifically for 2007 that will provide direct financial assistance to
help farmers recover from insurmountable crop and livestock losses.
Anything short of that would simply be another disaster for Tennessee
and other southeastern farmers.

Mr. Chairman, to you and the other members of this committee, thank you
for allowing me to be here. On behalf of Governor Phil Bredesen, thank
you for your support of disaster assistance for Tennessee farmers.
Again, thank you for all that you're doing to support our agricultural
industry. I will be glad to answer any questions that you may have.