~ Governor sent letter Friday to U.S. Secretary of Agriculture requesting assistance ~

Saint Paul – Governor Tim Pawlenty spoke with U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Mike Johanns by phone today and learned that Secretary Johanns has directed his staff to work as expeditiously as possible to assess conditions in Minnesota and determine whether a federal agricultural disaster declaration is warranted. A decision is expected as soon as tomorrow. The secretary will be in Minnesota Tuesday to attend Farmfest in Redwood Falls.

On Friday, Governor Pawlenty sent a letter to Secretary Johanns requesting a federal agricultural disaster be declared for 25 Minnesota counties, which would allow drought-impacted farmers and ranchers to receive low-interest loans from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Governor Pawlenty visited a dairy and corn farm west of Little Falls last Tuesday to see the drought conditions firsthand.

“We greatly appreciate the Secretary’s help in addressing the challenges of Minnesota’s farmers in dealing with this drought,” Governor Pawlenty said.

A declaration would allow affected farmers to receive the assistance of the United States Department of Agriculture, specifically the low-interest Emergency Loan Program administered by the Farm Service Agency. Emergency loan funds may be used to restore or replace essential property, pay all or part of production costs associated with the disaster year, pay essential family living expenses, reorganize the farming operation and refinance certain debts.

Several parts of the state experienced drought conditions last year, and lack of rainfall during 2007 has only exacerbated stress on crops and forages in these areas. While it is too early to predict actual yield losses, there are confirmed reports of significant forage loss which is of particular concern to livestock producers.

The 24 counties suffering drought conditions are Aitkin, Anoka, Benton, Brown, Carlton, Cass, Cook, Crow Wing, Douglas, Hennepin, Hubbard, Itasca, Kanabec, Lake, Mille Lacs, Morrison, Pipestone, Pope, St. Louis, Sherburne, Swift, Todd, Wadena, and Wright. Roseau County was also submitted due to winter grass kill and early excessive rains.