12/04/2015
Please read this and use it to contact Governor Haley! SC Farmers need help with flood relief. Governor Haley must apply for federal aid in the next few days!
Please share this with your friends and neighbors!
The Honorable Nikki Haley
1205 Pendleton Street
Columbia, SC 29201
Re: Flood Relief for South Carolina Farmers
Dear Governor Haley:
As the 2015 Agricultural year comes to a close, South Carolina Farmers are faced with difficult decisions regarding how they will pay their bills, and avoid losing their homes and farms. Even farmers who purchased crop insurance face dire economic situations. Beginning farmers, like my wife and I, are particularly hard hit, and we need federal assistance to be able to continue to operate our family farm.
The average age of the US Farmer is fifty-eight to sixty years old, and in recent years, there has been a push to have new and beginning farmers come into agriculture. However, beginning farmers across the state have to start at ground zero as it relates to crop insurance. I have heard several people saying, “Crop insurance will pay.” That is not always the case though, and I am one of the farmers who will most likely not receive crop insurance payment. Our crops are insured at sixty-five percent. In order for crop insurance to be reliable, a farmer has to build a production history based on proven yields. Until a proven yield can be established, our crop insurance is based on the county yield. In Spartanburg and Laurens counties where my wife and I have our farm, we are guaranteed roughly $120.00 per acre with an out of pocket input cost of $200.00 which does not include our equipment payments. In a year like this with low commodity prices, it is impossible to pay our input costs.
Additionally, the delayed harvest caused by the rains and wet ground means that many farmers will not be able to plant winter crops this year as the crop insurance deadline for them had passed before the fall crops could be harvested. On our farm, we generally plant winter wheat as well as perform custom farming for other people. None of which will happen this year.
Although you have asked the Secretary of Agriculture to expedite crop insurance payments to South Carolina farmers, that is not enough! While expediting crop insurance payments will help, it is not a cure. Federal disaster assistance is desperately needed for agriculture and all small businesses in South Carolina that have been severely damaged by the historically disastrous weather patterns of 2015. We are asking you to immediately request 376 million dollars for agriculture in addition to the 140 million dollars that is already requested for home repair. If agriculture cannot pay its bills, there will be an very negative ripple effect through the entire economy of South Carolina.
Sincerely,
