HOLLAND (WHTC-AM/FM) — U.S. Rep. Fred Upton, R-St. Joseph, called U.S. Department of Agriculture’s disaster designation for Berrien, Cass, and St. Joseph counties”welcome news for our farmers and producers.”
Upton’s written statement, emailed to media went on to say the suffering of Southwest Michigan farmers who experienced record rainfall, extreme temperatures, and other damaging weather conditions is clear.
“This disaster designation is a good start, but I will continue my conversations with the USDA and encourage them to approve our disaster designation request for the rest of the counties in our district and the entire state of Michigan,” Upton said in the statement.
In June, Upton signed a bipartisan letter from 13 members of the Michigan Congressional Delegation to Secretary Perdue urging support for Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s USDA Secretarial Disaster Designation request for Michigan. In July, Upton toured some of most-affected farms in Southwest Michigan.
The USDA’s disaster areas in Berrien, Cass, and St. Joseph counties are now “eligible to be considered for certain assistance from the Farm Service Agency, provided eligibility requirements are met.”
