Sep 29, 2021

Washington berry growers among those targeted for aid in relief package

Democratic Washington Congresswoman Suzan DelBene announced  Sept. 21 she helped secure critical relief for farmers, ranchers and other agricultural producers impacted by recent heatwaves in the stopgap federal funding legislation that passed the House of Representatives.

The bill would fund the government until Dec. 11, 2021, if passed by the Senate and signed by President Joe Biden.

In June, a historic heatwave with temperatures reaching as high as 120 degrees Fahrenheit devastated farmers in the Pacific Northwest. In many instances, agricultural producers in the region couldn’t access federal relief because these programs typically only cover wildfires, droughts, and other extreme weather events.

The legislation includes $10 billion in Wildfire and Hurricane Indemnity Program Plus (WHIP+) assistance that will be open to agricultural producers who experienced disaster-related crop loss in 2020 and 2021 from droughts, wildfires, excessive heat, smoke exposure, and other types of natural disasters. This is the first time that excessive heat has been covered in WHIP+.

“The recent historic heatwaves in the Pacific Northwest devastated crop yields and livestock from berries and tree fruits to cattle and shellfish. Farmers and ranchers hurt by the blistering heat this summer will be able to access relief through this bill,” DelBene said in a news release. “While this assistance will help our food producers survive and recover from the 2020 and 2021 heat-related disasters, we must make our agricultural industry more resilient in the face of our climate crisis looking forward.”

Washington raspberry, blueberry and blackberry growers are among those reporting widespread losses of 20% to 80% of their crops and harm to the canes that will produce next year’s crop.

In July, DelBene led a bipartisan, bicameral group of 45 lawmakers in sending a letter to U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack urging him to provide additional relief to agricultural producers impacted by heatwaves, droughts, and wildfires.

The text of the bill can be found here.