Commissioners declare ag disaster here

by Julie Golder Staff Writer
| June 23, 2011 9:29 AM

Boundary County Commissioners on Monday declared an agricultural disaster here.

The declaration will be sent to Gov. Butch Otter to be submitted at the federal level.

Otter will request an agricultural disaster emergency declaration from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretarial Disaster Designation.

Bob Graham with Boundary County Emergency Management presented the commissioners with a survey of farmers affected by standing water in their fields.

The designation would allow farmers and land owners to apply for federal assistance from the USDA Farm Service Agency, according to Graham.

“The farmers have had a fair amount of damage due to the water tabled inside the dikes and the high levels of the Kootenai River over such a long period of time,” said Graham.

Graham said in order to qualify for assistance the county only had to have one farmer with 30 percent or more damage and our county has two.

Other farmers estimate losses of between one to 30 percent. Graham was able to contact six farmers all of whom had some amount of acreage affected by standing water.