OSWEGO COUNTY, NY – The Oswego County Legislature is working to build support for the local farming community that has been devastated by storm damage this year.
Opening the discussion during Thursday’s meeting, legislator Shawn Doyle, R-Pulaski, said that the Economic Development and Planning Committee had a serious discussion at its recent meeting about the amount of crop damage local farmers have suffered because of this summer’s storms.
Since that meeting, Doyle said another hail storm shocked the county, bringing the major storm count to three.
Doyle said that the committee discussed asking the full Legislature to send an urgent letter to the state requesting that Oswego County be declared an agricultural disaster area in an effort to bring some relief for the agricultural community.
“Many farmers will suffer extreme financial loss this year,†Doyle said.
Legislator Barbara Brown, R-Palermo, agreed and made the motion to have the letter prepared.
“The financial losses in the county are tremendous,†she said, noting that the crop damage caused by storms will result in significant hardships for the farming community.
Legislator Lee Walker Jr., D-Oswego, said that when he first learned of the crop damage in Oswego and Scriba areas, he contacted State Senator Darrel Aubertine to see if help was available. Within two days, Walker said New York State Agriculture Commissioner Patrick Hooker was in Oswego County to survey the damage.
Hooker explained during his visit to the county that the typical delivery system for emergency situations is through the federal government. He said farm service agencies across the state are collecting data on the damages to quantify the statewide loss. Once that is complete, he said the governor will deliver the data to the Secretary of Agriculture, who can declare the disaster and open the doors for relief.
“It is a disaster,†Walker said. The additional storm since Hooker’s visit became “a double whammy†for farmers, Walker noted.
“They sure could use help here in Oswego County,†he said.
The Legislature voted unanimously to make the request.
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