Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand are seeking a disaster declaration for Schoharie County and 33 other counties following spring frosts that damaged crops and farmland.
Gillibrand recently called on U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack to fulfill the governor's request to declare the counties as federal disaster areas so that farmers can access federal funds to help them recover losses from the freezing temperatures.
"For New York State's economy to grow, we need our farms to thrive," Gillibrand said in a media release. "Still recovering from last year's back-to-back natural disasters, farmers across the state were hit again with late frost that's costing them even more crops. We need to open up access to federal resources so these farmers can get back to business, and keep New York's agricultural industry on the move."
In the release, Gillibrand said that many crops on New York farms blossomed earlier than usual because of record high temperatures in late winter.
The crops were then exposed to frosts in early spring, which destroyed many of the crops, including 100 percent losses for some farms.
"These counties represent $2.09 billion in agricultural production to New York's economy each year," Gillibrand said in the release. "In the Lake Erie Grape belt alone, over $13 million has been estimated in market value loss."
Local News
Cuomo, Gillibrand seek disaster declaration for Schoharie
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