COUNTYWIDE : Disaster Declaration May Assist Growers
Ventura County growers who were affected by December’s freeze are expected to be able to apply for low-interest loans because President Bush has declared a natural disaster, officials said Tuesday.
A total of 31 California counties will benefit from the declaration, which was issued Monday, said Dan Mathews, spokesman for Rep. Robert J. Lagomarsino (R-Ventura).
Gov. Pete Wilson declared the area a state disaster last month.
Ventura County suffered about $128 million in losses from the year-end crop freeze, said Kenneth Weiss, deputy agricultural commissioner for the county.
Disaster relief is expected to include food coupons and an extension of unemployment insurance benefits for farm workers and others who lost work as a result of the freeze, said Karen Guidi, assistant director with the sheriff’s office of emergency services.
Low-interest loans will also be provided to growers through the Farmers Home Administration and to packinghouses and trucking businesses through the Small Business Administration, she said.
The need for relief has become pressing, County Supervisor John K. Flynn said. “With the drought, the freeze, the economy down, we really need that assistance.”
No estimates were available Tuesday on how much money will be made available from the federal government.
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