Crist wants ag disaster declared for Manatee, Polk, other areas

Tampa Bay Business Journal

Gov. Charlie Crist has asked U.S. Department of Agriculture secretary Tom Vilsack for several Florida counties to be declared disaster areas following flooding and drought conditions.

Manatee and Polk are among the 11 counties for which Crist is seeking federal assistance.

Manatee is one of nine counties that experienced flooding in recent weeks because of a series of storms that passed through Florida. Some areas of the state received upward of 24 inches of rain over a 10-day period through June 5, Crist said. Two other counties, Polk and Marion, experienced eight weeks of drought between March 15 and May 26, which is usually the minimum threshold to get a disaster declaration.

“This dichotomy is something every Florida farmer and rancher knows all too well,” Crist said in his letter.

Excessive rain and flooding have damaged potato, watermelon, bell pepper, tomato, cantaloupe, cucumber, caladium and butter bean crops. Drought conditions have impacted pasture and Bahia grasses, Crist said.

“It is my hope that given the amount of damage agriculture received, you will expedite this request so that our producers can begin to access much-needed disaster relief,” Crist said.