Thirty-one counties in upstate New York are asking the federal government for disaster relief after crop damage from last May’s deep freeze recently came into full focus.

Crops from the Hudson Valley to the Finger Lakes suffered extensive damage after temperatures plunged below 32 degrees on the early morning of May 18. Initial reports from farmers suggested grapes and apples were hit the worst, with the president of a regional grape association saying it was the most damaging freeze in at least 60 years.

But the full extent of the damage has only become clear as farmers have attempted to harvest their crops. In the worst-hit areas, 95 percent of certain crops were totally destroyed from the freeze, according to U.S. Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer, who spoke with Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack last week about the disaster and getting farmers federal relief.

Thirty percent of a crop must be lost for a county to request federal disaster relief, and nearly all of the 31 counties reported 30 percent losses on multiple crops. In Columbia County, for example, apples, blueberries, cherries, peaches, plums and strawberries reached this threshold, according to the New York State Farm Service Agency, which is requesting disaster relief from the USDA on behalf of the farmers.

New York’s two senators, Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, wrote Vilsack urging the USDA to approve the designation so farmers can get financial relief.

“With New York’s disaster application now submitted for 31 counties — exactly half of the counties in the state — I am urging the USDA to swiftly provide the vineyards, orchards, and farms now facing detrimental damage with a Secretarial Disaster Designation to unlock emergency relief funds,” Schumer said in a statement. “We can’t leave New York’s beautiful orchards and renowned wine country out in the cold right as harvest season begins.”
 
“With farmers still suffering from the staggering crop losses from the May freeze, it is imperative USDA expeditiously approve a Secretarial Disaster Declaration for the 31 impacted counties,” Gillibrand said in a statement. “I will continue to fight for our farmers to get the assistance they need.”

If Vilsack approves the request, low-interest USDA emergency loans become available to farmers in each county where a disaster is declared, allowing them to borrow up to 100 percent of the cost of production or physical losses due to the freeze, with loans topping off at $500,000 per producer.

Vineyards and apple farms, which were badly affected by the freeze, make up a large chunk of the state’s agricultural sector. As of 2017, New York was the third-largest wine producer in the U.S., behind only California and Washington. The industry employs close to 100,000 New Yorkers, according to the New York Wine and Grape Foundation. Apples are a $2.1 billion industry in the state.

Source - https://www.timesunion.com