Hudson Valley County Executives Push for Federal Disaster Designation for Farmers

Hudson Valley county executives are urging the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to approve New York Governor Kathy Hochul’s request for a federal disaster designation after the state’s farmers suffered devastating crop loss this spring.

Ulster County Executive Jen Metzger, Orange County Executive Steve Neuhaus, and Dutchess County Executive Sue Serino sent a joint letter on Wednesday to USDA Secretary Brooke L. Rollins, urging federal action to support fruit, vegetable, and speciality-crop growers following this year’s extreme weather.

In late April, farmers in the Hudson Valley and greater Northeast region were hit with an overnight frost with temperatures as low as 19 degrees. The frost came days after warm weather, with temperatures that broke 90 degrees in some areas that pushed apple tree buds into bloom.

READ: After Frost Crop Loss, NY’s Apple Farmers Say Agriculture is a Growing ‘Gamble’

Metzger said she saw the extent of the damage firsthand while touring farms down in Marlboro in the southern part of Ulster County, where some farms saw as much as 90 percent crop loss.

Metzger said that counties are united in securing urgent support for farmers across the state.

“This is not a partisan issue. It’s a farmer issue. It’s a community issue. It’s an economy issue, and we really hope that we can in with our additional kind of push, but again, [we] really appreciate the Governor’s efforts to get this declaration,” said Metzger.

Damaged crops included fruit crops, such as apples, grapes, stone fruit, and pears, as well as early vegetable crops like onions.

A federal disaster designation would allow affected farmers to apply for USDA low-interest emergency loans, according to New York Governor Kathy Hochul.

Metzger says farmers and small business owners are worried about the longer-term implications the frost could mean to agricultural industries.

“Agrotourism is huge for [Ulster County’s] economy. It has to do with our proximity to New York City. We have so many u-pick orchards. They worry about that, too. There’s a lot of implications to this,” said Metzger. “These are people’s livelihoods, and agriculture is such an important part of not only our economy but who we are in the Mid-Hudson region.”

Producers estimate about more than $30 million in crop loss. Impacted counties span as far as Niagara and Erie counties in western New York to further south in Ulster, Sullivan, and Orange counties in the Catskills and Mid-Hudson Valley region.

“Sadly, the number of working farms in our region is dwindling. Federal, state, and local partners must work together to support those farms still in operation to continue to be viable and sustainable for the long term,” said Orange County Executive Steve Neuhaus in a press release. “The funds provided through a Secretarial Disaster Designation would be a significant help to these hard-working families.”

New York ranks as the second-largest apple-producing state in the country, averaging 29.5 million bushels of production each year.

Image: Close-up of an apple tree at a New York farm (Photo Credit: Cornell University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences )