NEBRASKA, February 12 - Media Contacts:  

Taylor Gage, 402-471-1970

Justin Pinkerman, 402-471-1967

Media Release:

Gov. Ricketts Thanks Ag Secretary Perdue, USDA for Disaster Declaration

LINCOLN – Today, Governor Pete Ricketts issued a statement following news that U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue had issued a disaster declaration for Scotts Bluff County and other contiguous counties.   

“Abnormal weather caused significant damage statewide in Nebraska during 2019,” said Gov. Ricketts.  “Two unusually early snowstorms in October hit Nebraska’s sugar beet industry particularly hard.  Nebraskans are grateful to Secretary Sonny Perdue and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) for their attentiveness to the hardship suffered by our beet farmers.  This declaration opens the door for them to seek much-needed disaster assistance.”

ABOUT SECRETARY PERDUE’S DISASTER DECLARATION:

• The disaster declaration was issued due to crop losses and damages sustained during two severe weather events in October 2019.
• The declaration designates Scotts Bluff County as a primary natural disaster area.
• The declaration also designates Banner, Box Butte, Morrill, and Sioux counties as contiguous disaster counties in Nebraska.
• As a result of the declaration, farmers in all of the counties listed above may now be eligible for assistance from the USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA), provided they meet certain requirements.
• Farmers in these counties have 8 months from the date of the declaration (February 7, 2020) to apply for emergency loans through FSA.

Full text of the disaster declaration can be found by clicking here.