After a soggy season, Patrick asks feds to declare agricultural disaster

He said the state estimates it lost more than 30 percent of the value of its tomato crop, about 50 percent of the value of its corn crops, and nearly 100 percent of the tobacco crop. He couldn’t provide a more precise estimate for the losses, but he noted the state’s tobacco crop alone has an estimated value of $17 million.

In a letter seeking assistance from the US Department of Agriculture, Patrick noted that June was the second wettest June on record in Massachusetts. The wet conditions produced destructive pathogens, such as early blight and late blight, which hit crops at hundreds of farms across the state.

“It’s important to recognize that the disaster declaration is not a silver bullet, but it’s an important part of the tool box for farmers to dig themselves out of the hole,” Soares said.

The assistance would guarantee the state’s farmers access to low-interest loans to cover all production, removal, and replanting costs associated with lost crops, up to $500,000.

Federal officials have not yet approved the request, which sought assistance for Barnstable, Berkshire, Bristol, Essex, Franklin, Hampden, Hampshire, Middlesex, Norfolk, Plymouth, and Worcester counties. It could take several weeks before they make a decision.

Kent Politsch, a spokesman for the USDA’s Farm Service Agency, said it’s likely the agency will designate much of Massachusetts a disaster area, which he said is a relatively routine decision. In fact, the department designated Barnstable, Suffolk, Middlesex, and Worcester counties disaster areas last year after droughts and extreme heat hit them in 2007.

“Agricultural disasters are quite common,” he said. “One half to two-thirds of the counties in the US have been declared disaster areas in each of the past several years.”

The financial losses from the soggy summer hit farmers unevenly throughout the state.

Some cooperative farms – those where people pay in advance for a share of the crop – were able to spread their losses.

The Lindentree Farm in Lincoln lost 2,000 tomato plants, but the losses were spread among the 275 members of its cooperative, each of whom prepaid for the crops.

“It was a very painful loss, but we have a certain cushion,” said Moira Kurtz, the owner of the farm, which also lost thousands of dollars in sales to the local farmer’s market.

The nearby Blue Heron Organic Farm in Lincoln wasn’t as fortunate.

With nearly all their heirloom tomatoes, pumpkins, and winter squash destroyed, they’re expect to lose about $30,000 this year -- a big hit for the 7-acre farm that sells much of its crops to local restaurants.

“I’ve never seen anything like this -- a season where you lose your main crop,” said Ellery Kimball, the farm’s owner.

She said she will likely seek the low-interest loans if they become available.

“It would be awesome,” she said. “We can use the help.”