Farmers rally to help ‘neighbors’ coping with Katrina losses

“When you’re raised on a farm, there’s a built-in sense of community to help your neighbor,” said Joe Jobe, CEO of the National Biodiesel Board, a Jefferson City, Mo., alternative fuel association founded by soybean commodity groups. “There’s a strong sense of, ‘Hey, we’re all in this together.’ We’ve got to help each other.”

The Biodiesel Board plans to ship diesel fuel made from vegetable oils to the disaster area once it gets approval from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Jobe said.

Alabama Agriculture Commissioner Ron Sparks said his department will be coordinating the farm-aid for farmers in Mississippi, Louisiana and southern Alabama, where some farmers were still recovering from last year’s Hurricane Ivan.

Sparks said a request for assistance went out through the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture and people are already responding with offers of feed, fencing, veterinary help and transportation.

“I don’t think there could be a reasonable need that we can’t meet,” said Sparks, whose department will maintain a database to get supplies to needy farmers.

Terry Francl, senior economist for the American Farm Bureau Federation, estimates direct agricultural losses from Katrina at $1 billion, but the full extend of the damage may not be known for weeks.

“Unfortunately, crop, livestock and poultry losses … may be the tip of the iceberg,” Francl said, adding that U.S. agriculture could suffer another $1 billion in losses because of higher fuel prices and supply disruptions.

Grain elevators are already reducing the amount paid to growers because barges are waiting in the Mississippi River with no access to the demolished Gulf ports, he said, noting that more than 60 percent of U.S. corn and soybean exports are shipped from the New Orleans area.

But despite the major crop losses in Mississippi and Louisiana, the storm’s impact on overall production and commodity prices will likely be negligible because of copious harvests elsewhere, particularly corn, soybeans and cotton, he said.

Francl said U.S. grain and oilseed prices may drop 5 to 10 cents per bushel while Gulf ports are shut down.

“Furthermore, there is mounting concern that the shutdown will compel international buyers to look to other sources, such as China for corn, or South America for soybeans,” he said.

While farmers in the disaster area try to repair fences, round up stranded cattle and find housing for their displaced families, farm groups around the country have mobilized to help.

The 5.6 million-member Farm Bureau Federation is urging its members to donate cash and food to charities such as the American Red Cross and the hunger relief group, America’s Second Harvest.

The Farm Bureau is also raising money for disaster victims.

In addition, its members are conducting clothing and food drives and have volunteered to host Katrina victims on their farms, said spokeswoman Tracy Taylor Grondine.

“We’re doing it because that is the type of organization we are,” she said. “We try to help those in need, especially our own. We’re raising money to give back to farmers who lost crops and cattle.”

The 25,000-member National Cattlemen’s Beef Association in Centennial, Colo., is raising money for disaster victims and shipping hay and supplies, John Braly, the group’s vice president said.

“They’re all family to us,” Braly said. “We’re starting to get early reports of cattle losses and cattle stranded without fresh water.”

Contributions are coming in from all over the United States — Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, the Dakotas, Kansas and Nebraska, and some members have offered to house displaced farmers, he said.

Braly said his group had commitments for at least 29 semi-loads of hay, each weighing about 25 tons, two loads of feed and seven loads of supplies, ranging from fencing, building materials, generators, chain saws and four-wheelers.

A Nebraska farmer and cattleman, who insisted that he be identified only by his first name — Rusty — watched Katrina strengthen in the Gulf and realized farmers would suffer huge losses, so he launched Farmers Helping Hands to provide assistance.

“I’m just a simple farmer,” he said. “I had to get it done. Farmers are in trouble down there and we take care of our own. You can go to the beginning of agriculture and farmers always worked side by side — the old barn raising parties.”

He has established a staging area in Abilene, Kan., to deliver hay, animal feed and supplies. He is also working to find homes for displaced farm families, to provide veterinary care for cattle and other animals in the area and to send volunteers to help rebuild the farms.

“I know … if the situation were reversed, I’d be thanking them for their generosity because that’s what farmers do,” he said.

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On the Net:

American Farm Bureau Federation: http://www.fb.org/

National Cattlemen’s Beef Association: http://www.beefusa.org/

National Biodiesel Board: http://www.biodiesel.org/