USDA Alert: Half of U.S. Counties Designated Primary Disaster Areas

The largest natural disasterin American history just went from bad to worse.

Sweltering heat and persistent drought across the country has ravaged crops to such extremes this summer that tens of thousands of farmers and ranchers are on the verge of financial ruin. The situation is so dire that it has prompted the US Department of Agriculture to declare more than half of America a disaster area.

…more than half of all U.S. counties – 1,584 in 32 states – have been designated primary disaster areas this growing season, the vast majority of them mired in a drought that’s considered the worst in decades.

Counties in Arkansas, Georgia, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Mississippi, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee and Wyoming were included in Wednesday’s announcement. The USDA uses the weekly U.S. Drought Monitor to help decide which counties to deem disaster areas, which makes farmers and ranchers eligible for federal aid, including low-interest emergency loans.

Source: Seattle Times

Without the ability to harvest their crops, many farmers are finding it difficult to make good on loans they used to fund their operations. Cattle ranchers, who can’t find hay due to the drought and whose feed prices are skyrocketing, are also feeling the pinch.

An AgWeb discussion in early July involving small business and family farmers displayed their desperation, with many commentors indicating this summer’s drought is the worst they’ve ever experienced. Others reported their crops were dying and pleaded for rain.

That rain never came, and according to industry experts and officials at the USDA, conditions are now set to intensify and worsen.

As of this week, nearly half of the nation’s corn crop was rated poor to very poor, according to the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service. About 37 percent of the U.S. soybeans were lumped into that category, while nearly three-quarters of U.S. cattle acreage is in drought-affected areas, the survey showed.

The potential financial fallout in the nation’s midsection appears to be intensifying. The latest weekly Mid-America Business Conditions Index, released Wednesday, showed that the ongoing drought and global economic turmoil is hurting business in nine Midwest and Plains states, boosting worries about the prospect of another recession, according to the report.

Continue: http://www.blacklistednews.com/USDA_Alert%3A_Half_of_U.S._Counties_...

Favorite

1 member favorited this

▶ Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Nathan on August 3, 2012 at 10:13am

This isn't a problem just for the U.S.

Drought delivers fresh blow to reeling Indian economy

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/08/03/us-india-economy-drought-...

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Nathan on August 3, 2012 at 12:55pm

This article was written by Dominique Bailleul and originally published at ETF Daily News

Lt. General William Boykin (retired) told TruNews Radio Tuesday that the U.S. economy of the United States “is just about the break” and collapse. And when the dam gives way, severe food shortages and pervasive violence throughout America will warrant, in his opinion, an executive declaration of martial law.

“I’ll be very honest with you; the situation in America could be such that martial law is actually warranted, and that situation in my view could occur if we had an economic collapse,” said Boykin, a former CIA Deputy Director of Special Activities.

“The dam is just about to break on our economy, and I think when it does, there’s going to be a major disruption of the distribution of food,” he added. “And I think what you’ll see particularly in the inner cities is you will see riots, civil unrest that ultimately might justify martial law.”

Though the U.S. is the world’s largest exporter of agriculture, in the case of a currency collapse, producers will withhold shipments to retailers and consumers unable to pay in a currency other than U.S. dollars. For a time, barter will take the place of currency for those living in rural areas, but for the majority of Americans living in cities and adjacent suburbs, food shortages can emerge within 24 hours.

Source: http://www.alt-market.com/articles/946-former-cia-army-general-mart...

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Vincent L. Guarisco on August 3, 2012 at 10:29pm

Hi Nathan -

As I recommended in a similar article about this same subject, make sure you stock-up on freeze dried commodities before they skyrocket worse than they already have. Of course there's a lot more stuff you already should have stored as well, but I think most of our savvy members have been doing this for some time. Be prepared!