Lancaster County Farmers Receive About $2 Million For Crop Loss, Other Payments
Total amount paid to farmers in Lancaster County for the drought and other crop
losses amounted to $1,892,821.23, as noted in the “check” provided by legislative
work. From left, state Rep. Tom Armstrong, (R-98th); Rep. Leroy Zimmerman (R-99th);
Sam Hayes Jr., state secretary of agriculture; Rep. Jere Schuler (R-43rd); and state Sen.
Noah Wenger (R-36th). Photo by Andy Andrews
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ANDY ANDREWS
Lancaster Farming Staff
NEW HOLLAND (Lancaster
Co.) Last year’s devastating
drought combined with this
year’s debilitatingly low tobacco
prices have been eased some
what by a combination of fed
eral and state financial aid
packages.
The total payments made to
Lancaster County farmers, as of
Wednesday, amounted to about
$2 million, to help offset millions
of dollars in crop loss and to
help tobacco farmers transition
to growing other types of crops.
Additional legislation is pro
posed to the tune of $1.7 billion
to help farmers in all of Pennsyl
vania recover from crop disas
ter, noted Sam Hayes Jr., state
secretary of agriculture. The
combinations of drought and
flooding at the end of the
summer were the worst most
producers had seen in the state.
Last year was “as bad as it’s
been in 100 years,” said Hayes.
Hayes spoke to more than 50
producers, legislators, media,
and agri-industry representa
tives Wednesday at the New
Holland Sales Stables.
In announcing the success of
the financial aid programs,
Hayes outlined how well Penn
sylvania with the help of a
full team of legislators made
Pennsylvania greater and
quicker to respond to farmers
than any other state in the
Northeast.
“No other state comes even
close,” he said.
Last year the state offered
many programs targeting the
drought, including $6O million
in direct grants and $5.6 million
to subsidize crop insurance. And
$5 million was allocated to pro
vide hay assistance payments to
producers.
The average hay assistance
payment was $1,300 per appli
cation. About 3,600 producers
were eligible.
April 28 is the deadline to
send in hay receipts under the
statewide rebate program. The
first check went out the third
week of December, Hayes noted.
For crop loss, the average
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payment to the producer has
amounted to $BOO, a figure,
when all state and federal allo
cations are accounted for, which
could rise to about $4,000 per
producer.
State legislators know what is
happening in the domestic to
bacco market, Hayes noted.
Hayes provided an overview of
the Tobacco Grower Trust pro
gram. The money is not taken
from taxpayers. The money is
provided by tobacco companies
to help farmers transition to an
other crop. It is not government
money. The amount per grower
per year, over a 12-year period,
is approximately $5,000.
Out of about 320 eligible, 270
growers are in Lancaster
County. The application period
is open now through May.
State Sen. Noah Wenger (R
-36th) said the money “is not
going to . . . make up for all
the loss,” he said. But it will pro
vide “an expression of support,”
said Wenger, to help the farm
ers.
“Farmers are eternal optim
ists,” Wenger said, who believe
the next season “will always be
better.”
The amounts won’t stop
there. The total in crop loss pay
ments will be more than $2 mil
lion in Lancaster County alone,
Ag Secretary Sam Hayes Jr.
noted. More work is necessary
for another piece of legislation
to go through the House and
Senate to provide additional
help.
State Rep. Jere Schuler (R
-43rd) noted that support pro
grams like Pennsylvania’s
“don’t just happen,” he said.
“Many people are involved.”
State Rep. Leroy Zimmerman
(R- 99th) noted the drought “af
fected everyone, terribly, in a
bad way,” he said. “Hopefully
this is the last time we’ll ever
have to do this.”
Jane Balmer, Lancaster
County Farm Bureau, noted to
bacco farmers were thankful
“we got anything at all,” she
said, the way the prices at the
auction were this season. Farm
ers are grateful for the tobacco
trust money.