Farmers seek help with crops

Farmers seek help with crops

By CHAD SMITH
chad.smith@staugustine.com
Publication Date: 05/22/09

The two most important disaster-relief officials in Washington coincidentally will be in central Florida at a previously scheduled meeting today, and a congressman intends to ask that they expedite relief for the farmers facing huge losses after their fields were flooded by heavy rainfall this week.

"This timing couldn't be better to have all of the key players in our district to get some attention," U.S. Rep. John Mica said in a telephone interview Thursday before flying back to Florida.

Mica, Janet Napolitano, the secretary of Homeland Security, Craig Fugate, the administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and Sen. Mel Martinez are scheduled to meet with other officials in Lake Mary to discuss emergency response.

Calling the flooding a "disaster," Mica said the federal government needs to respond.

Many fields in southwestern St. Johns County were under water after a slow-moving storm dumped several inches of rain on the area this week as many farmers were preparing to harvest their crops of potato, cantaloupe and cabbage.

Mica said he was going to ask Lt. Gov. Jeff Kottkamp, who will also attend the meeting, to forward the local requests for emergency declaration to Washington, and he'll ask Fugate and Napolitano to grant the requests.

The emergency declaration would open doors for impacted farmers to get aid money.

Flagler County, which has been among the hardest hit areas, reported an estimated $45 million worth of damage done to potato farmers in Flagler, Putnam and St. Johns counties, where there are nearly 20,000 acres of potato farms.

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