Arkansas’ congressional delegation said Tuesday that it has written to U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack in support of the state’s request for federal disaster aid for farmers.
Gov. Mike Beebe requested a secretarial disaster declaration for farmers and ranchers after flash flooding in east Arkansas last week damaged thousands of acres of crops and pastures, U.S. Sens. Mark Pryor and John Boozman and U.S. Reps. Rick Crawford, Tim Griffin, Steve Womack and Tom Cotton said in a statement.
The disaster declaration would give farmers in the affected areas access to low-interest emergency loans from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farm Service Agency.
The farmland affected was in Cross, Lee, Prairie, Woodruff, Independence, Lonoke, St. Francis, Jackson, Monroe and White counties, according to the delegation’s letter to Vilsack.
The loans would “provide the essential lifeline to meet financial obligations” for farmers, the delegation wrote to Vilsack.