Governor Tim Pawlenty today sent a letter to Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack requesting a federal agricultural disaster be declared for Kittson, Lake of the Woods, Marshall, Pennington, Roseau, and Koochiching counties. Producers in these counties have experienced significant losses due to above average precipitation in 2008, and heavy precipitation, flooding in the Red River Valley, and unseasonably cool temperatures in 2009.
If approved, the federal designation will make farm operators in the six counties eligible for low-interest emergency loans from the federal Farm Service Agency.
