SCHUMER: WAYNE COUNTY FRUIT FARMERS WILL FINALLY RECEIVE FED AID TO RECOVER FROM DEVASTATING 2012 FROSTS IN JUST-PASSED FARM BILL – SENATOR NOW URGING FEDS TO SPEED UP RETROACTIVE DISASTER RELIEF PAYMENTS
Schumer Visited Wayne County After Cherry, Peach, Pear Farmers Took Devastating Hit To Their Crop Yield & Bottom Line During Extreme 2012 Spring Freeze – At That Time, Schumer Vowed to Fight for Retroactive Aid In Farm Bill
Recently Passed Farm Bill Contains That Promised Aid & Allows Farmers With Tree and Bush Fruit Crops Severely Impacted By 2012 Freeze To Collect Up To $125K – But Crop Disaster Relief Program Not Scheduled To Kick Into Gear Until Fall, Even Though Farmers Need Cash Flow Now
Schumer: Farm Bill Means Bushels of Relief for Wayne Fruit Farmers, But USDA Must Roll-Out Payments in Spring So Farmers Can Get Funds When They Need It Most
Last week, U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer, at Van Acker Farms in Williamson, announced that Wayne County fruit farmers who experienced an extreme and damaging spring freeze in 2012 have federal aid on the way, and will urge that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) expedite the roll-out of this recently passed retroactive disaster relief program. Schumer visited the Van Acker Farm following that devastating thaw-freeze and vowed to fight for retroactive aid in upcoming Farm Bills. The Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP), which helps farmers recover from loss of income due to weather-related or other disasters, will be able to provide growers with much needed assistance. Schumer said that he fought for NAP to be both strengthened and include retroactive assistance as part of the recently passed Farm Bill. The provision allows farmers to purchase NAP insurance now to cover farmers’ losses retroactively, which frees up millions of dollars in federal disaster relief money for farmers in Upstate New York who lost, depending on their coverage level, 35% to 50% their expected yield from tree and bush fruit crops in 2012. The retroactive NAP program, however, is not scheduled to get underway until late fall, which is not ideal for fruit farmers who need the cash flow more now, as they ramp up during the spring, than when the season winds down in the fall. Schumer therefore urged the USDA to expedite and prioritize the implementation of the program to get disaster relief funds flowing sooner so that farmers can apply now for this aid when they need it most.
“Ever since the devastating, once-in-a-lifetime freeze of spring 2012, fruit farmers in New York and particularly Wayne County have been desperate for help,” said Schumer. “That is why I fought for the NAP provision in the Farm Bill to include retroactive disaster refunds for the cherry, peach and pear farmers that are part of this region’s DNA. Finally, this provision means that bushels of relief are on the way for Wayne County fruit farmers, and we need to make sure they arrive sooner than later, because spring is the season that this cash is most needed. Farmers across the state are in the process of gearing up for the season and their capital needs are greater now than at any other time of the year. These farmers have already suffered enough; the least we can do is speed up these retroactive payments, so farmers can have access to these critical funds when they need it most.”
Schumer stood with cherry and peach growers Dan Van Acker of Van Acker Farms; Gary Orbaker of Orbaker Fruit Farms; and other Wayne County cherry, peach, and pear growers to announce that the recently passed Farm Bill includes improvements to the NAP and a provision that would allow for retroactive assistance for fruit growers in counties with a 2012 disaster declaration due to freeze or frost, something that he pushed for two years ago at Van Acker Farms. This new retroactive NAP provision allows farmers to elect coverage from 50% to 65% of their yield. If a farmer elects the 65% coverage level, they could start to receive payments on losses after 35%. Farmers will have to pay a small premium fee to enter the program based on the value of production and acres planted. Each farmer will be eligible to receive up to $125,000 in assistance.
Schumer hailed the retroactive NAP provision, which will help thousands of farmers across New York State, but he warned that the program will likely not be implemented until the fall, which is not as helpful to farmers as if it were able to get underway now when they need cash flow the most. Schumer urged USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack to speed up the process of implementing the program and get it under way this spring, as farmers like Mr. Van Acker and Mr. Orbaker are ramping up their operations, instead of waiting until the Fall.
Below are sample calculations of how these retroactive disaster payments will benefit farmers:
· A Wayne County cherry grower with 50 acres of cherries for processing (non-fresh) that had an average yield of 2.9 tons of cherries per acre but lost all of their crop in 2012, would stand to receive an estimated $48,500 at 65% coverage
· A Wayne County peach grower with 25 acres of peaches and an average yield of 159 bushels per acre who lost all their crop in 2012, would stand to receive an estimated $28,593 at 65% coverage
· A Wayne County pear grower with 15 acres of pears and an average yield of 9.03 tons/acre who lost all their crop in 2012, would stand to receive an estimated $43,757 at 65% coverage
In addition to the retroactive provision, the Farm Bill also included improvements to the NAP program that will allow farmers that already had NAP insurance in 2012 to buy up to a higher level of coverage through NAP. Under the 2008 farm bill, a farmer who produced less than 50% of his or her anticipated yield due to a disaster would be paid 55% of the average market price for any crop losses over 50%. The recently passed farm bill allows for farmers to elect coverage up to 65% of their yield and be paid out at 100% of market value for those losses after as low as 35%. It also allows bush and tree fruits producers in counties affected by frost or freeze in 2012 who already purchased traditional NAP policies to retroactively buy up to a higher level of coverage.
The recently passed bill now allows farmers to purchase coverage that would allow them to receive payments on up to 65% of their expected yield through NAP and be paid out at 100% of market value for those losses. Dan Van Acker of Van Acker Farms expected that his trees would be on track to produce 200 tons in 2012, twice the amount that they produced in 2011. Unfortunately, due to the unexpected heat/freeze cycle in 2012, he harvested only 6-7 tons. Additionally, Van Acker Farms produces about 80-90 tons of peaches in an average year, but Mr. Van Acker lost a significant amount of his peach crops in 2012 as well. The retroactive NAP provision heralded by Senator Schumer will allow Mr. Van Acker to retroactively recoup tens of thousands of dollars due to his lost 2012. If expedited, Mr. Van Acker will not need to wait long to begin seeing improvements to his farm’s bottom line.
Gary Orbaker, of Orbaker Fruit Farm, had his cherry and peach crops decimated during the spring of 2012. Fortunately, he purchased insurance for his cherries, but he did not purchase insurance for his peaches. The NAP provision that Schumer supports will help him in two ways: it will enable Mr. Orbaker to retroactively purchase insurance on his peaches and recoup some of his lost earnings; and it will allow him to increase the coverage he purchased on his cherries to the full 65% level, versus the 55% level.
During the unanticipated freeze of spring 2012, the USDA issued a total of four federal agriculture disaster declarations for 34 counties in New York, including Wayne County, representing $2.09 billion in agricultural production. After a winter of record high temperatures, many crops on New York’s farms blossomed earlier than usual. It is reported that the last time warm weather forced fruit budding as early as it did in 2012 was 1945. Many of these crops were then exposed to early spring freezing temperatures, and were destroyed or heavily damaged as a result. Across the state, more than 3 million acres of farmland lost 30% of their crops or more, with many farms reporting losses ranging upwards of 100%. Particularly hard-hit were fruit producers, including cherry and peach growers, all of whom would be eligible for relief under this new retroactive NAP provision as long as they lost 35% to 50% of their yield depending on the coverage they elect.
Unfortunately, family and individual farms, which according to the USDA make up 84% of New York’s farms, were most affected by the freak 2012 weather. Three-quarters of the state’s farms report sales of $50,000 or less, meaning that crop losses as high as 100% have deprived them of a vital source of income. Statewide, farms generate $427 million in personal income for their employees. Between 2001 and 2010, New York State produced an average of 10.1 million pounds or 5,050 tons of tart cherries. Wayne County is the state’s largest producer of cherries, an important secondary crop for the state's fruit industry. Most of the cherries are sour or tart cherries that are used in pie filling and dried fruit.
A copy of Senator Schumer’s letter to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack is included below:
Dear Secretary Vilsack:
I would like to commend you on your early efforts to begin the implementation of the Agricultural Act of 2014 also known as the 2014 Farm Bill, as it is of great importance to our farmers and rural economies. I would like to bring to your attention the importance of the retroactive Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP) provision included in the farm bill. Fruit growers in New York were devastated in the 2012 frost and I urge you to expedite the implementation of this program to get assistance out to growers as quickly as possible.
As you know, in the spring of 2012, growers experienced extreme losses due to an unexpected and devastating freeze. Thankfully, the recently passed 2014 farm bill included both improvements to strengthen the NAP and a provision that would allow for retroactive assistance for fruit growers in counties with a 2012 disaster declaration due to freeze or frost. This program would allow farmers to buy up to 65% coverage for losses in 2012 and receive assistance up to $125,000 based on acres planted and the value of production. As states around the country have been experiencing another year of devastating cold weather and crop losses, it is of great importance that you expedite rulemaking using the new coverage levels included in the bill so that farmers who are still grappling with financial losses from the 2012 frost are able to quickly receive NAP assistance.
Again, I commend your efforts to implement the important provisions and programs in the 2014 Farm Bill and urge you to address the retroactive NAP as quickly as possible to assist our nation’s farmers that have been suffering from the 2012 frost for far too long.
Sincerely,
U.S. Senator
Charles E. Schumer