Entire state of Mo. now federal agricultural disaster area

St. Louis Public Radio | By Marshall Griffin,

Rachel Lippmann, Rachel Lippmann, Marshall Griffin

Published July 17, 2012 at 12:22 PM CDT

Updated with comments from McCaskill conference call.

The entire state of Missouri is now a federal agriculture disaster area.

Seventeen of the state's counties, mostly in the Bootheel, had already received that declaration. Today's announcement from the U.S. Department of Agriculture extends that declaration to the other 97 counties and the city of St. Louis.

The declaration makes farmers and ranchers in the state eligible for low-interest emergency loans and other assistance from the USDA's Farm Service Agency. They're asked to keep track of their crop and livestock losses, as well as any additional costs they accrue battling the heat and drought.

Gov. Jay Nixon spent Tuesday surveying the damage at farms in northern Missouri.

The declaration gave Sen. Claire McCaskill an opportunity to blast the Republican-controlled U.S. House of Representatives for sitting on the farm bill, which passed the Senate nearly a month ago.

Two of McCaskill's potential opponents in November - former state treasurer Sarah Steelman and U.S. Rep. Todd Akin have both said they oppose the farm bill, mostly due to provisions dealing with food stamps. McCaskill said that position shows the two don't understand Missouri agriculture. Her third potential opponent, John Brunner, has not yet taken a position on the bill.

A temporary extension is likely, McCaskill said, and it would provide financial support to corn, soybean and other commodities farmers in Missouri. But cattle ranchers would only be able to graze their livestock on land that's currently part of the federal conservation program.

"Unfortunately, that land is just as burnt as the other land, as so there really isn't good grazing or haying opportunities," she said.

Saline County farmer Stanton Thompson, who joined McCaskill on the call, says he's purchased crop insurance for decades, often with premium that's subsidized by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The subsidy is part of the farm bill.

"My friends and I are looking into the crop year 2013, and it's pretty scary in my opinion to be looking at the possibility of no insurance coverages, or at least those that are no longer subsidized," Lawrence said, "because the premiums will just be extraordinarily high and unaffordable as far as I'm concerned."

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Marshall Griffin

Missouri Public Radio State House Reporter Marshall Griffin is a proud alumnus of the University of Mississippi (a.k.a., Ole Miss), and has been in radio for over 20 years, starting out as a deejay. His big break in news came when the first President Bush ordered the invasion of Panama in 1989. Marshall was working the graveyard shift at a rock station, and began ripping news bulletins off the old AP teletype and reading updates between songs. From there on, his radio career turned toward news reporting and anchoring. In 1999, he became the capital bureau chief for Florida's Radio Networks, and in 2003 he became News Director at WFSU-FM/Florida Public Radio. During his time in Tallahassee he covered seven legislative sessions, Governor Jeb Bush's administration, four hurricanes, the Terri Schiavo saga, and the 2000 presidential recount. Before coming to Missouri, he enjoyed a brief stint in the Blue Ridge Mountains, reporting and anchoring for WWNC-AM in Asheville, North Carolina. Marshall lives in Jefferson City with his wife, Julie, their dogs, Max and Mason, and their cat, Honey.

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Rachel Lippmann

Lippmann returned to her native St. Louis after spending two years covering state government in Lansing, Michigan. She earned her undergraduate degree from Northwestern University and followed (though not directly) in Maria Altman's footsteps in Springfield, also earning her graduate degree in public affairs reporting. She's also done reporting stints in Detroit, Michigan and Austin, Texas. Rachel likes to fill her free time with good books, good friends, good food, and good baseball.

Rachel Lippmann

See stories by Rachel Lippmann

Marshall Griffin

St. Louis Public Radio State House Reporter Marshall Griffin is a native of Mississippi and proud alumnus of Ole Miss (welcome to the SEC, Mizzou!). He has been in radio for over 20 years, starting out as a deejay. His big break in news came when the first President Bush ordered the invasion of Panama in 1989. Marshall was working the graveyard shift at a rock station, and began ripping news bulletins off an old AP teletype and reading updates between songs. From there on, his radio career turned toward news reporting and anchoring. In 1999, he became the capital bureau chief for Florida's Radio Networks, and in 2003 he became News Director at WFSU-FM/Florida Public Radio. During his time in Tallahassee he covered seven legislative sessions, Governor Jeb Bush's administration, four hurricanes, the Terri Schiavo saga, and the 2000 presidential recount. Before coming to Missouri, he enjoyed a brief stint in the Blue Ridge Mountains, reporting and anchoring for WWNC-AM in Asheville, North Carolina. Marshall lives in Jefferson City with his wife, Julie, their dogs, Max and Liberty Belle, and their cat, Honey.