President Clinton signed the bill on Nov. 1. But the aid package was included in a larger crop disaster loss package that mainly aids Midwestern farmers who have large field crops. The kicker for Fallbrook farmers is payments are made based on a complicated formula that places great emphasis on the size of the farmed property.
Midwestern farmers have hundreds, or thousands, of acres.
Fallbrook farmers predominately grow high-dollar avocado and exotic fruit crops on less than 10 acres. But the small number of acres for each Fallbrook grower asking for federal quarantine relief and the USDA formula have resulted in a goose egg in dollars for crops lost. Midwest farmers get 50 percent of their estimated loss based on the expected crops and what the expected yield would have been. Farm Bureau leaders said they expected at least 100 applicants to participate in the program. So far, however, about 30 growers from throughout Riverside and San Diego counties have sent in applications for such aid, many of which are incomplete, Dean said.