Feds declare Lincoln County disaster area
The United States Secretary of Agriculture has declared 15 Montana counties, including Lincoln County, as primary natural disaster areas due to recent drought. The declaration was delivered in a letter sent to Gov. Steve Bullock Wednesday.
“In accordance with 7 CFA 759.5(a), I am designating 15 Montana counties as primary natural disaster areas due to a recent drought,” Secretary Thomas Vilsack wrote in the letter. “The primary counties included under this designation are Beaverhead, Deer Lodge, Flathead, Glacier, Granite, Lake, Lewis and Clark, Lincoln, Mineral, Missoula, Pondera, Powell, Ravalli, Sanders and Silver Bow.”
Steve Fuchs, with the National Drought Mitigation Center, said conditions this week were worsening throughout the western region. Counties in northwest Montana, including Lincoln County, have crossed the line into the D3 designation, or drought-extreme status.
“In Montana, D3 was introduced in the west while D2 expanded in the east,” Fuchs wrote in the July 7, 2015, National Drought Summary. “In the north-central portions of Montana, D1 and D0 were expanded slightly.”
The disaster status declaration by the Secretary triggers benefits for farm and ranch operators, including both subsidies and loans.
Kim Adams, a loan specialist with the Farm Service Agency office in Ronan, said the loans are low-interest loans repaid over seven-year terms, designed to help farmers and ranchers overcome the impact of lost crops and livestock due to drought or other natural disasters. Operators must have significant income loss in order to qualify for the loans.
“To qualify, operators need at least a 30 percent loss to crop production or loss of livestock,” Adams said. “If so, they can secure a low-interest loan for the amount of the actual loss, minus any insurance reimbursements.”
Ed Daugherty, the Farm Services Agency executive director for Lake County, said the disaster declaration also triggers other benefits, such as a capital gains tax deferral and assistance under the livestock feed program.
“It doesn’t do a whole lot by itself, but because of the D3 designation, livestock producers are eligible for the livestock feed program,” Daugherty said.
The feed program allows livestock producers to receive up to three months’ worth of feed for their livestock to offset lost grazing and range opportunities caused by the drought. Payments under the feed program are determined by a formula based upon the number of eligible acres and the amount of eligible livestock.
“It’s not a huge amount of money,” he said. “But it can definitely help.”
Gov. Bullock welcomed the Secretary’s decision.
“Farmers from many Montana communities are feeling the impact of drought conditions,” Bullock said in a prepared statement. “This declaration will provide much-needed assistance to agriculture producers that have seen or will have significant crop damage or loss. With low snowpack and rain, we know many other communities throughout the state are struggling with dry conditions, and my administration will work closely with the U.S. Department of Agriculture to monitor conditions and take any appropriate steps to provide assistance.”
Montana’s two United States Senators also supported the move by the Secretary.
“Dry conditions across Montana communities are having a significant impact on our agriculture producers,” said Sen. Steve Daines. “This declaration provides our farmers with much-needed peace of mind as they face great uncertainty with this year’s crops. I’ll continue working to ensure Montana’s agriculture producers have the support and certainty they need.”
“Montana farmers and ranchers suffering from severe drought conditions should take advantage of USDA assistance to help them recover,” Sen. Jon Tester said. “As long as this drought continues, impacting businesses and our state’s biggest industries, we need to make sure they can access the resources they need to protect their livelihoods and our very way of life.”
Montana’s lone member of the House of Representatives, Rep. Ryan Zinke, said he wasn’t surprised by the declaration and added it points to a much larger potential problem on the horizon.
“Am I shocked? No,” Zinke said. “I’ve toured western Montana a lot recently and it’s very dry. This also supports why the forest reform bill is so important and why it needs to be picked up by the Senate and passed.”