Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal Sends Letter to US Agriculture Secretary Requesting Aid for Morganza Farmers

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April 8, 2008 -- BATON ROUGE – Today, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal sent a letter to the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture to request assistance for those farmers in the Morganza Spillway whose crops have been affected by recent rising water levels. The letter is included below:

Morganza Louisiana sandbag: National Guard heavy equipment fills large sandbags to prevent Mississippi River floodwaters from flooding cropland near Morganza. Photo courtesy Louisiana Dept. of Agriculture.

Secretary of Agriculture Ed Schafer
U.S. Department of Agriculture
14th & Independence Ave, SW
Washington, D.C. 20250

Dear Secretary Schafer:

Due to flooding and excessive rainfall, Pointe Coupee Parish is experiencing losses on wheat and crawfish. Some producers will also be prevented from planting cotton and soybeans.

These losses are due to a levee breach in the Morganza Spillway. As you are aware, the Mississippi River is very high and it is expected to continue rising. If the Corps of Engineers opens the gates to the Spillway, several thousand additional acres would be affected. The producers in the immediate area are severely affected and will suffer significant crop losses.

Louisiana Commissioner of Agriculture & Forestry Mike Strain has been in close contact with the local farmers on this problem. We respectfully request that Pointe Coupee Parish be declared a disaster area and all USDA benefits be made available. We also ask that the following parishes be approved as contiguous parishes: Avoyelles, Concordia, Iberville, St. Landry, West Baton Rouge and West Feliciana.

We have requested Farm Service Agency to submit the Damage Assessment Report (Loss Assessment Report) directly to the National Office.

Thank you for your prompt consideration of our request for a declaration.

Very truly yours.

Bobby Jindal
Governor

Source: Louisiana Governor