PENNSYLVANIA (WFMZ-TV) – The new state budget is helping farmers impacted by the devastating late-April freeze.
Officials say growers are seeing losses of 80-100% of their summer fruits, including peaches, nectarines, and cherries.
So far, twenty-eight counties have been granted disaster declarations from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, but farmers say getting funding from the federal government takes time.
The state budget includes 10,000,000 dollars for the Freeze Disaster Assistance Recovery Grant program that was signed into law last week.
“Those dollars will not replace the lost apples or cherries or peaches, and it won’t help our processors and packers, unfortunately,” says Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding.
But it will provide some meaningful financial assistance to help farmers weather this difficult season and build a bridge to a better day,” he said.
State officials say they are still working on specific guidelines for the program, but the process should be underway by mid-August.