[onlooker]

https://feww.wordpress.com/2015/06/25/d ... -7-states/
In seven states a situation deemed a disaster is declared in terms of crop production.

[careinke]

https://feww.wordpress.com/2015/06/25/drought-and-deluge-hail-and-severe-freezing-destroy-crops-in-7-states/
In seven states a situation deemed a disaster is declared in terms of crop production.

It will be interesting to see how much money our wheatlands pull in this year. Probably a good thing we don't rely on that money.

[Outcast_Searcher]

From the same link/page as onlooker's original post in this thread:

Crop Disasters 2014

In 2014, USDA declared crop disasters in at least 2,904 counties across 44 states. Most of the designations were due to drought.

Those states were:

Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan. Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. [FIRE-EARTH has documented all of the above listings. See blog content.]

Notes:
i. USDA trigger point for a countywide disaster declaration is 30 percent crop loss on at least one crop.

ii. The counties designated as agricultural disaster areas, as listed above, include both primary and contiguous disaster areas.

iii. Some counties may have been designated as crop disaster areas more than once due to multiple disasters.

iv. The U.S. has a total of 3,143 counties and county-equivalents.

So, in 2014, basically the ENTIRE US had its counties declared as a "crop disaster", and yet somehow we not only managed to avoid widespread starvation, but to remain the most obese and morbidly obese nation on the planet.

So perhaps this is less of a "disaster" than a sign of how much we depend on big government to play the role of farm subsidizer?

[GHung]

This is usually a fairly routine procedure; a first step so that farmers can apply for assistance, crop insurance claims, and filing a "Notice of Loss":

Filing a Notice of Loss

The CCC-576, Notice of Loss, is used to report failed acreage and prevented planting and may be completed by any producer with an interest in the crop. Timely filing a Notice of Loss is required for all crops including grasses. For losses on crops covered by the Non-Insured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP), you must file a CCC-576, Notice of Loss, in the FSA County Office within 15 days of the occurrence of the disaster or when losses become apparent.

Producers of hand-harvested crops must notify FSA of damage or loss through the administrative County Office within 72 hours of the date of damage or loss first becomes apparent. This notification can be provided by filing a CCC-576, email, fax or phone. Producers who notify the County Office by any method other than by filing the CCC-576 are still required to file a CCC-576, Notice of Loss, within the required 15 calendar days.

If filing for prevented planting, an acreage report and CCC-576 must be filed within 15 calendar days of the final planting date for the crop.

It's similar to areas that have been damaged by weather, fire, etc. being declared disaster areas so they can receive federal and state assistance. Standard procedure for release of funds, and part of our complex way of doing things. I consider the FSA to be one of our more critical and affective bureaucracies. People gotta eat.

[dohboi]

Interesting that this does not include any counties from CA!

The year is still young. Many more to follow. But most of the drought disasters will be in the West this year, most likely. Some El Nino influenced flooding may take a toll in some areas, too.

[Cid_Yama]

Right, outcast searcher. We are a major exporter of food. Meaning the price went up for those elsewhere, and they had the severe malnutrition and starvation. And it you were watching, the price also bumped up here.

The poor in this country are starting to suffer serious malnutrition. Or in the lexicon of those that could give a shit, food insecurity. We no longer talk of hunger or starvation in this country. Those words are no longer politically correct.

I know, if it's not obvious to those with the ability to pay the extra, it's not happening. You could at least acknowledge you have some intelligence. Surely you know it's happening, whether you want to admit it or not.

[Hawkcreek]

I live right in the middle of wheat country in eastern Washington (one of the states listed).
Crops look great around here. Had just the right amount of rain - harvest will be a good one.