Disaster area

LITTLE FALLS - Gov. Tim Pawlenty said he expects that by Thursday several Minnesota counties will be eligible to be included in an agricultural disaster declaration because of Minnesota's drought condition.

• Photos

Back | Next

Back | Next

Back | Next

The governor spoke Tuesday in front of Ron and Alvina Hourscht's parched cornfield, just west of Little Falls. If counties meet the U.S. Department of Agriculture's threshold of more than a 30 percent crop loss, affected farmers will qualify for low-interest loans, Pawlenty said.

"Assuming we qualify," Pawlenty said of the federal criteria. "I think we will."

Ron Hourscht walked Tuesday through his drought-stricken cornfield west of Little Falls. Holding two ears of corn that have not matured, Hourscht talked about the loss of income for his family. Brainerd Dispatch/Steve Kohls

» Purchase reprints of this photo.

Also attending the governor's inspection of the Hourscht farm were Rep. Al Doty, DFL-Royalton, and Morrison County commissioners Tom Wenzel, Don Meyer and Duane Johnson.

Many of the farm fields suffered in last year's dry weather and there was little moisture content in reserve to help this year, state Commissioner of Agriculture Gene Hugoson said, noting that many soybeans are not flowering. The prolonged dry weather could have long-lasting effects on the land, he said.

"Things look bad now but they could get much worse," Hugoson said.

Hourscht, 62, who said his soil is not conducive to irrigation in normal years, said he appreciated the governor's interest in drawing attention to farmers' problems. His family moved to the Little Falls area in 1952. He began farming full time in 1967.

"It's a good thing to bring awareness out," Hourscht said.

Hourscht said ears of corn that should be 10 inches long are shorter and of poor quality. He said the corn is not developing ears at all or is only a quarter of the length that it should be.

An underdeveloped ear of corn was exposed Tuesday in Ron Hourscht's field near Little Falls.

Brainerd Dispatch/Steve Kohls

» Purchase reprints of this photo.

Hourscht said the financial relief farmers receive is more than just a give-away. He was asked how he'd respond to critics of farm subsidies who claim that farmers receive too much government aid?

"Between you and me, I'd tell them to try farming," he said. "They talk about people going to the casinos, I still say a farmer is the biggest gambler there is."

His corn yield was 150 bushels three years ago and 110 bushels last year.

"As of now, there's nothing," he said of this year's corn crop.

What corn he does produce he said he likely would feed to his dairy cows.

It's not just corn that's been affected this year, Hourscht said.

In a normal year an alfalfa field would yield five to six tons in one growing season. This year, he said, the first crop was three tons, the second crop was a half-ton and without rain there will be no third crop of alfalfa.

Hourscht owns about 340 acres of farmland and rents about another 200 acres. He works with his wife and son in the operation.

"We hope and pray for rain," Pawlenty said after his tour. "I've asked officials here in Minnesota for an assessment of the drought."

Pawlenty said the Minnesota Legislature has provided the Rural Finance Authority with modest funding to help that agency partner with local lenders to provide credit to eligible farmers.

The governor also said he'd urge congressional leaders to include in this year's farm bill an amendment of earlier farm legislation so 2007 farm losses could be eligible for assistance in addition to the damages that were sustained by agriculture producers in 2005 and 2006.

Pawlenty credited Rep. Collin Peterson, D-Minn., chair of the House Agriculture Committee with a good idea. Peterson has called for the federal government to establish a permanent agriculture disaster fund since farm land somewhere in the U.S. is adversely affected by nature every year.

The Republican governor said that based on newspaper reports he's read the recently passed U.S. House farm policy legislation is "pretty good bill."

Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty talked to reporters at the Ron Hourscht farm near Little Falls on Tuesday about the effects of the drought on crops in central Minnesota. In the foreground, the spindly stalks of corn showed evidence of hot weather and no moisture this summer. Brainerd Dispatch/Steve Kohls

» Purchase reprints of this photo.

The Hay Hotline also was singled out by the governor as a state program that matches suppliers to farmers who can't produce enough hay.

A news release distributed at Pawlenty's tour cited a DNR report that Minnesota's last serious drought occurred in 1987-89. The warm dry winter of 1986-87 marked the beginning of this drought period, the report said.

The tour and media interviews with state officials lasted about an hour but considerable preparation was done by Alvina Hourscht, who first learned last Friday that she would be hostess to the governor, state and county officials and a large group of hungry journalists. Final details of the visit weren't pinned down until Monday.

She credited the help of many friends for the bars, pastries and other treats she had available at the farm's machine shed Tuesday morning.

MIKE O'ROURKE may be reached at mike.orourke@brainerddispatch.com or 855-5860.