The U.S. Department of Agriculture says farmers in eight New Hampshire countieswill be eligible for emergency loans due to climate conditions last year.
The emergency credit is supposed to help agricultural producers bounce back from natural disasters.
In 2018, that meant drought in the north of the state, and too much water in the south, according to the USDA.
The drought designation was triggered by a countywide corn crop loss exceeding 30 percent in Grafton, while excessive moisture contributed to major pumpkin crop losses in Hillsborough.
Jeffrey Holmes is the Executive Director of New Hampshire's Farm Service Agency. He says having these two extremes in a state this size is odd.
"Producers were hauling water to cattle up in Coos County right through fall,” Holmes says. “And they had 15 to 20 inches above average moisture in Hillsborough County."
Farmers in the eight designated counties -- and some contiguous -- have until November 12, 2019 to apply for the emergency loans.
Source - https://www.nhpr.org
