Washington, DC – Senators Olympia Snowe (R-ME) and Susan Collins (R-ME) and Representatives Tom Allen (D-ME) and Michael Michaud (D-ME) have received a response from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), regarding their request that 14 Maine counties affected by extreme weather conditions be designated as disaster areas. The USDA has granted disaster designation for eight counties in Maine that sustained sufficient production losses: Aroostook, Franklin, Kennebec, Penobscot, Piscataquis, Somerset, Waldo, and Washington. By being designated as a disaster area, Maine farmers in these counties are eligible for disaster aid for crop losses suffered during the disaster period.
"Farmers throughout Maine have suffered major losses due to harsh weather conditions," said the delegation in a joint statement. "This aid from the USDA will give these farmers who have endured considerable losses the resources to recover from such disastrous conditions."
The USDA determined that farmers in the approved counties experienced a significant loss in production from wet conditions from excessive rain and a cold, wet spring and summer that occurred from June 1, 2004, through October, 31, 2004.
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