Remarks by U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Dan Glickman on Northeastern Drought  
Washington, DC   August 6, 1999
                                                               
                                            Release No. 0320.99

Remarks
          As Prepared for Delivery
                               by
           U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Dan Glickman
                   on Northeastern Drought  
                Washington, DC   August 6, 1999

     "Thank you very much.  You know when NOAA called my office yesterday, I
thought for sure it was to tell me that rain was finally in the forecast.  No
such luck.  Quite the contrary, in fact.  

     "What we've suspected from the anecdotal evidence has now been
officially determined: for several states in the northeast, this is the driest
growing season in history...or at least since such records have been kept.

     "This drought couldn't come at a worst time for farmers, who are already
coping with some of the weakest prices in decades and soft global demand for
their commodities.

     "On Monday, I visited with farmers in West Virginia and Maryland, and I
saw the devastation first hand -- sickly, stunted stalks of corn; dried-out
fields; harrowing conditions reminiscent of Depression-era dust bowls.  And
the vast majority of farmers in this area are the ones most vulnerable to
drastic weather   those who run small and medium-sized operations. 

     "I declared all of West Virginia and 33 counties in neighboring states a
disaster area, thus qualifying local farmers for low-interest USDA loans and
other forms of assistance.  And we are considering requests for disaster
declaration from nine other states.

     "But that won't be nearly enough.  Several farmers, in fact, told me on
Monday that loans won't do it; they need some kind of direct assistance.  I
was pleased to see the Senate pass an emergency farm aid package on Wednesday. 
But that bill does not do anything to help farmers cope with drought.  The
bill that finally emerges from Congress and is sent to the President must
include a significant drought and disaster assistance component.

     "Drought is something of a unique catastrophe.  If I can make a morbid
analogy...tornadoes and floods are more like heart attacks   quick strikes
that compel people to spring immediately into action.  But drought is more
like a cancer   slow, insidious, and not always easy to detect in the early
stages.  

     "That makes a drought harder to respond to.  Nevertheless, in the 1990s,
USDA has paid out $3.4 billion in crop insurance benefits from drought damage,
compared to only $268 million for crops damaged by floods. 

     "But we have to do more.  We need better response mechanisms and we need
to work on prevention, so that farmers can anticipate and properly prepare for
drought.  As chair of the National Drought Policy Commission, I intend to make
this a top priority, and the Commission will report back to the President with
a comprehensive plan for drought preparation.

     "For most Americans, bad weather is matter of inconvenience or mild
discomfort.  For those who live off the land, however, Mother Nature's whimsy
can be cruel and unforgiving.  It can be the difference between profiting and
perishing.  We have to do use every resource at our disposal, and I am
committed to doing so.  

     "Thank you very much."
          
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