CHICAGO - Governor Pat Quinn today announced that United States Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack has declared six eastern Illinois counties as federal disaster areas following a May 21 hailstorm that destroyed the area's strawberry crop. The declaration makes farmers in these counties eligible for federal disaster assistance, primarily low-interest loans. The action was taken after Governor Quinn submitted a request to Secretary Vilsack for a disaster declaration.
"When Illinois farmers hurt, we all hurt, no matter what crops they are growing," Governor Quinn said. "While this declaration won't replace the lost strawberry crop in eastern Illinois, it will help farmers who were devastated by this storm to recover."
The late May hailstorm didn't widely affect the traditional crops of corn and soybeans in the area. However, the strawberry crop was reaching maturity at that time and was especially vulnerable to damage from large hailstones. The entire crop, located primarily in Vermilion County, was destroyed. Federal agricultural disaster declarations extend to contiguous counties, so the Illinois counties of Champaign, Douglas, Edgar, Ford and Iroquois and the Indiana counties of Benton, Vermillion and Warren were also included.
"The damage from this storm was isolated, but severe," Illinois Department of Agriculture Director Bob Flider said. "The low-interest, emergency loans the disaster declaration triggers could help farmers who are suffering cash flow problems because of crop losses. They can be used to pay not only production expenses, but also family living expenses."