DelBene: Funds Will Help NW Producers Hurt By Heat

Last month, western Washington representative Suzan DelBene announced that the farming community may be eligible for disaster-related relief funds due to excessive heat and droughts.

“Many on this call I know experienced firsthand this series of heat waves, the heat dome that hit the Northwest last summer, including the time in June where our temperatures went up to 120 degrees.  Paired with a near statewide drought, farmers in our state experienced losses to their crops including scorch fruit, damaged canes, increased shellfish mortality and other impacts to berries, potatoes, tree fruits, shellfish, dairy, and beef cattle among other Ag products.”

In response, lawmakers cleared the Extending Government Funding and Delivering Emergency Assistance Act, including $10 billion in WHIP+ assistance to help address crop losses in 2020 and 2021.

“The key thing for our farmers in our district is that this is the first time that excessive heat has ever been covered.  So after we signed the funding for this program into law, I urged Secretary Vilsack to quickly implement the program and talked about the urgent need to prioritize the Northwest producers that have been impacted by heat.”

Visit the FSA's Website to learn more about the Wildfire and Hurricane Indemnity Program Plus assistance fund.

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