Gov. Bill Ritter on Monday criticized the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s decision to deny disaster relief to 10 southeastern Colorado counties walloped by back-to-back blizzards that killed about 10,000 cattle.
The USDA, in a letter dated Feb. 5, said farmers and ranchers didn’t qualify for low-interest operating loans. Countywide, the losses did not equal 30 percent or more of production, which would include cattle, calves and winter wheat. The USDA has approved low-cost loans on a case-by-case basis for physical losses.
Ritter had asked the USDA to help people in Baca, Bent, Cheyenne, Crowley, Huerfano, Kiowa, Las Animas, Lincoln, Otero and Prowers counties where livestock was trapped in 15-foot drifts and unable to reach food or water for days after the late-December blizzards.
The USDA requires production losses – not economic losses – of 30 percent before declaring a disaster. The Colorado Department of Agriculture estimates 10,000 cattle died after the second blizzard, about 3 percent of the 345,000 cattle in southeastern Colorado.
Calving season is underway, and it’s expected there will be more losses.
“The USDA based its denial on criteria that are nearly impossible to meet given the nature of the storms,” Ritter said. “Our ranchers, farmers and cattlemen sustained immediate losses, and they’ll continue to incur losses for months to come, that do not fit neatly into the USDA parameters.”
Sen. Ken Salazar, D-Colo., said he is “extremely disappointed in the USDA’s short-sighted decision.”
“With the USDA failing farmers and ranchers in Colorado, it is now more important then ever for Congress to fight on their behalf. … Washington cannot afford to continue to fail Colorado’s farmers and ranchers.”
Salazar is co-sponsoring a bill that would provide direct emergency disaster relief for losses sustained because of natural disasters such as blizzards.
John Stulp, the state’s agricultural commissioner, was in Washington on Monday to meet with lawmakers from Colorado.
“I will keep working with our congressional delegation to pressure the USDA to reconsider,” Ritter said.
In Baca County, where drifts still measured 10 feet in places Monday, County Commissioner Peter Dawson said, “It’s been a long, hard winter, and it’s going to continue to be a long, hard winter and this sort of news doesn’t help.”
Dawson said he knows of ranchers who are considering quitting. They can’t afford the feed, and the cattle are losing weight “so they’re losing money on both ends.”
Dawson said some farmers have sold off long-standing herds, so “we’re looking at a catastrophic result from people having to sell off their herds.”
In Bent County, the severity of loss depends on geography. Those north of Las Animas received about 18 inches of snow, while those south of town were clobbered by up to 5 feet.
“I do know that there are some producers, especially in the south part of the county, that began the calving process, and they are having catastrophes, very, very high losses, much higher than 30 percent,” said Bill Long, a Bent County commissioner.
Long said he understands the government’s need for countywide rules and limitations.
“But that sure doesn’t help the producer in the areas that were harder hit that have a 75 percent to 80 percent loss,” Long said.
Staff writer Erin Emery can be reached at 719-522-1360 or eemery@denverpost.com.
