Johnson expects the Valley to be declared an agricultural disaster area, making farmers eligible for federal aid. To get such a declaration, a request submitted by county judges must be signed by the governor and forwarded to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. No Valley counties had submitted requests as of Thursday, said Texas Department of Agriculture spokesman Gene Acuna. The Texas Department of Agriculture is working with federal agriculture authorities to speed the disaster aid process, said spokeswoman Beverly Boyd. Even if farmers did get federal aid, however, it would not directly cover their losses.
Federal programs allow producers to restructure or postpone debt on agricultural loans.
That might not be enough the help the farmers, who have dealt with drought since the mid-90s, interrupted in 1997 by rains that flooded vegetable and melon crops. A lot of producers are going to walk away from the table while they can still get out. The extension service also expects reduced acreage of vegetable planting this fall because growers don't have enough water, Johnson said. The Valley received only a trace of rain in May, a dry month for the entire state, and is about five inches short of its average rainfall for the year. One of the Valley's reservoirs, Falcon Dam, reached its lowest point in 40 years a few weeks ago and many irrigation districts have exhausted their supply.