Easley seeks drought aid

Gov. Mike Easley on Friday asked the federal government to aid 85 of the state's 100 counties because of drought-related crop losses.

Easley sent a letter to U.S. Agriculture Secretary Michael Johanns, asking him to declare the counties disaster areas. The Triangle counties of Wake, Durham, Orange, Chatham and Johnston are included in the request.

USDA Loss Assessment reports show most of the counties have a 30 percent or greater loss of at least one significant crop.

"This drought is devastating our farms, which are a significant part of the North Carolina economy," Easley said in a statement. "Our farmers need our help, and this disaster assistance may make a difference whether some of them can afford to stay in business."

Farmers have reported significant losses of corn, cotton, hay, pasture, peanuts, soybeans and tobacco, according to a news release. With hay supplies dwindling, farmers must find alternative methods to feed livestock.

If the USDA approves the disaster declaration, it would authorize the Farm Service Agency to make low-interest emergency loans available to eligible producers.

State Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler said Friday that it could take some time for the USDA to act on Easley's request.

Troxler spoke during Friday's taping of "Headline Saturday." The half-hour program is a partnership of The News & Observer and WRAL-TV. It airs at 7 p.m. today.

For some crops, any rain would come too late.

"It doesn't matter how much rain we get now," Spring Hope farmer John Barnes said about his corn crop.

The dried-out stalks across the region will produce 1 percent less than last year, Troxler said. That doesn't seem too bad, except farmers statewide planted more corn this year. Troxler said 39 percent more corn crops were planted, so the state is really down about 30 percent on the yield.

Still, Troxler wouldn't write the farming season off as a total loss. Some crops could still rebound, he said.

"I wouldn't say [the season's] gone," Troxler said. "The soybeans ... if we get significant rains over a period of time, we can recover some of the terrible yields we're looking at now."

The counties covered by Easley's request include:

Alamance, Alexander, Alleghany, Anson, Ashe, Avery, Bertie, Bladen, Brunswick, Buncombe, Burke, Cabarrus, Caldwell, Caswell, Catawba, Chatham, Cherokee, Chowan, Clay, Cleveland, Columbus, Craven, Cumberland, Davidson, Davie, Duplin, Durham, Edgecombe, Forsyth, Franklin, Gaston, Gates, Graham, Granville, Greene, Guilford, Halifax, Harnett, Haywood, Henderson, Hertford, Hoke, Iredell, Jackson, Johnston, Jones, Lee, Lenoir, Lincoln, Macon, Madison, McDowell, Mecklenburg, Mitchell, Montgomery, Moore, Nash, Northampton, Orange, Perquimans, Person, Polk, Randolph, Richmond, Robeson, Rockingham, Rowan, Rutherford, Sampson, Scotland, Stanly, Stokes, Surry, Swain, Transylvania, Union, Vance, Wake, Warren, Watauga, Wayne, Wilkes, Wilson, Yadkin and Yancey.

Under USDA rules, if a county is declared a disaster area, the bordering counties also are eligible for disaster aid. The governor could add the remaining 15 counties if the crop troubles continue to worsen.