WASHINGTON (July 19, 2002) –– National Farmers Union announced support for the Emergency Agriculture Assistance Act, S. 2728, introduced in the Senate this week by Minnesota Sens. Paul Wellstone and Mark Dayton. The agriculture disaster assistance bill would provide up to $5.5 billion in financial assistance to farmers across the country suffering crop and livestock losses in 2001 and 2002.

"NFU commends the efforts of Senators Wellstone and Dayton and other members of Congress who have made disaster assistance for our farmers and ranchers a priority this session," said NFU President Dave Frederickson. "We began pushing Congress for disaster assistance when drought began strangling the northern Great Plains last year. Continuing drought, flooding and insect disasters have made it imperative that legislation be passed now providing disaster assistance to farmers and ranchers and their rural communities."

Since 1998 Congress has passed legislation approving emergency disaster spending. Although farmers across the nation have suffered substantial economic losses from adverse weather and disease in 2001 and 2002, there has been no designation of emergency disaster funding for either year.

This past February, the Senate passed a $2.3 billion agriculture disaster assistance package as part of the 2002 farm bill, which was not included in the final version of the bill.

National Farmers Union was among a coalition of 12 farm groups that recently sent a letter to Agriculture Secretary Ann M. Veneman urging the administration’s support of and active engagement in securing emergency disaster assistance for farmers and ranchers.

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