Glickman Declares Rhode Island and Five Virginia Counties as Agricultural
Disaster Areas
                                                               
                                                               
                                            Release No. 0339.99
                                                               
                                  Andrew Kauders (202) 720-4623
                                        andrew.kauders@usda.gov
                                  Matt Kilbourne (202) 720-5239
                                Matt_Kilbourne@wdc.fsa.usda.gov
                                                               

GLICKMAN DECLARES RHODE ISLAND AND FIVE VIRGINIA COUNTIES AS AGRICULTURAL
DISASTER AREAS

     WASHINGTON, August 17, 1999 Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman today
declared Rhode Island and five counties in Virginia as agricultural disaster
areas.  The declaration makes farmers in these areas eligible for emergency,
low-interest loans because of losses due to excessive heat and drought.  

     "This has been a crushing year for farmers throughout the Mid-Atlantic
and Northeast.  We are determined to continue our efforts in providing
assistance to those hit hard by this extreme drought," said President Clinton. 
"Rhode Island and five counties in Virginia have now been added to the
unfortunate roster of agricultural disaster areas, making farmers eligible for
emergency, low-interest loans."

     "This continues to be a devastating year for farmers in Rhode Island and
all over the Northeast," said Glickman.  "They've been faced with adversity
resulting from a horrible drought on top of record low farm prices.  We will
continue to do everything we can to help farmers make it through this
extremely difficult period."  

     The disaster declaration applies to Allegany, Buckingham, Page,
Rockingham, and Shenandoah Counties in Virginia.  Also eligible are the
following contiguous counties in 
Virginia: Albermarle, Appomattox, Augusta, Bath, Botetourt, Clifton Forge
City, Covington City, Craig, Cumberland, Fluvanna, Frederick, Greene,
Harrisonburg City, Madison, Nelson,         Prince Edward, Rappahannock,
Rockbridge, and Warren; and West Virginia: Greenbrier, Hardy, Monroe, and
Pendleton.

     All of Rhode Island's five counties were declared agricultural disaster
areas.  Also eligible, because they are contiguous counties to the disaster
area, are Massachusetts: Bristol and Norfolk counties; and Connecticut: New
London and Windham counties.

     Farmers have eight months to apply for emergency, low-interest loans to
help cover part of their actual losses.  To be eligible, farmers must have
suffered at least a 30 percent loss of normal production in a single
enterprise, be able to repay the loan and any other loans, be unable to obtain
credit elsewhere, and have adequate security.

     USDA has already provided over $10.7 million in Emergency Conservation
funds to assist with local water conservation projects.  USDA also offers
federal crop insurance and a program to compensate farmers for certain non-
insured crop losses.

     Glickman has already declared all or part of Arizona, Connecticut,
Maryland, New Jersey,  New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and
West Virginia as disaster areas.  Due to the close proximity to these states,
certain counties in California, Colorado, Delaware, Indiana, Kentucky,
Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, Vermont, and Utah also qualify for emergency
loan assistance.

     Glickman said that USDA is continuing to assess drought damage in other
states that are seeking disaster declarations, including Alabama, Delaware,
Kentucky, Montana, Oregon,    South Carolina, Utah, and Washington State.  

     The drought has hit hardest the eastern portion of the United States,
from New England to western North Carolina, the northern half of Florida, and
parts of the Pacific Northwest.  According to the National Oceanographic and
Atmospheric Administration, this is the worst drought in the history of record
keeping for farmers in Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, and Rhode Island. 
President Clinton last week announced the formation of a new drought policy
task force to help "coordinate our efforts and focus our attack on this
problem."  

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