State may be called disaster area

Wednesday, Aug. 4, 2004 | 11:03 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- For the second straight year, all or part of Nevada may be designated as a disaster area because of the drought that is hurting farmers and ranchers in this state, officials said.

The federal Farm Services Agency in Nevada is gathering information from the counties, and its state emergency board has tentatively scheduled a meeting for Aug. 16 to decide whether to recommend to Gov. Kenny Guinn and Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman the declaration of a disaster area.

Roger Van Valkenburg, executive director of the farm service agency, said the general view is that the eastern and central parts of Nevada are impacted more than the western part.

All 17 counties were declared disaster areas last year by Veneman; Van Valkenburg said about $15 million in federal aid was distributed to farmers who were hard hit.

Van Valkenburg said the drought monitor shows that Utah and parts of Arizona and New Mexico are suffering the worst in the West. Several surrounding states are also affected but not to the same extent.

Gov. Olene Walker of Utah declared most of that state a disaster area Tuesday because of the drought and is seeking federal help.

Don Henderson, Nevada director of the Agriculture Department, said Tuesday there was also a federal dry milk assistance program in Elko and Humboldt counties last year. The dry milk is mixed with feed to help the ranchers with cattle feed.

Karen Grillo, director of agricultural promotion and marketing for the state, said the federal government authorized about 14 million pounds of non-fat dry milk to be distributed last year in the two counties.

Several hundred ranchers signed up for the program, she said, and it "worked very well." An eligible rancher received two pounds per day per head of cattle or buffalo for each 30 days. And the allotment for sheep and goats was one-half pound of dry milk per day per animal.

Grillo said the program been extended to Lincoln County this year because of the dry conditions. While many of the programs of the U.S. Department of Agriculture don't fit Nevada's producers, she said, this one works very well.

She said Nevada's allotment this year will be more than the 14 million pounds because of the addition of Lincoln County.

While the federal government now plays the major role in relief, a past Silver State governor called on a higher being.

Gov. Charles Russell on Nov. 1, 1953, declared it "Drought Prayer Day," according to Jeff Kintop, state archives manager. The governor asked the churches in the state to pray for rain.

Kintop said there was a major drought in 1953-54 and Russell asked President Eisenhower to declare Nevada a disaster area. There were delays until Sen. Pat McCarran, D-Nev., talked to the president and Nevada received its disaster designation, making farmers and ranchers eligible for federal help.

Van Valkenburg said the emergency teams now in the field are assessing just how hard each county is suffering from a lack of water.