U.S. Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman has designated all 100 North Carolina counties for disaster relief eligibility because of ongoing drought conditions and agricultural losses.

In Moore County crop damage varies according to location and type of crop, according to Al Cooke, an agriculture agent with the Cooperative Extension Service.

Cooke said that irrigated crops are in good shape in Moore County, but the situation differs from community to community. Showers have been scarce and temperatures have been consistently high since June. Precipitation has ranged from almost nothing to several inches in some areas.

"Tobacco is in good shape, because farmers irrigate tobacco. Nursery and greenhouse crops are also irrigated, and they’re okay, but slow-growing this summer because of the heat," Cooke said.

The Extension agent said that weight and volume are down for many fruit and vegetable crops because farmers do not use large-scale irrigation on these crops.

"Soybeans look good. Soybeans are a pretty tough and drought-tolerant crop and they’ll bounce back once it rains," Cooke said.

"Corn depends on the location. Some corn is in reasonably good shape. Some corn is okay, some is not okay. And by okay, I don’t mean great," Cooke added with candor.

Cooke said the one exception to the corn situation is sweet corn, which is often irrigated. Sweet corn is raised especially for human consumption, not as feed for livestock and sale for commercial purposes.

A spokesperson in the Moore County office of the Farm Service Agency told The Pilot Friday that her office has received no official notification about the disaster relief program from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

"All we know is what we’ve seen in the papers and heard on the news," she said.

The USDA disaster relief designation will not mean that eligible farmers will receive government payments as such. Instead, they may be eligible for low-interest loans.

The FSA spokesperson said her agency has already been supplying USDA with data needed for such a designation but there will be a wait before her office receives a money allocation for loans.

However, she said the FSA office can accept applications if farmers want to come in and get a headstart on the loan process. She said farmers may visit the office in the Moore County Agriculture Center in Carthage to file an application, but they may have to wait awhile to find out their eligibility and other details.

"We are extremely gratified that Secretary Glickman realized the magnitude of the losses we’ve already experienced in North Carolina because of the drought, and the fact that there is no immediate relief in sight for family farms," said Gov. Jim Hunt in a news release late last week.

"Our state’s agricultural agencies will continue to work to help affected farmers, but we knew our ability to help would be restricted by available resources. The federal designation will help reduce suffering and hardship brought about by forces beyond our control," the governor continued.

Designation of the state as a primary disaster area by the U.S. Department of Agriculture allows family-sized farm operations throughout the state to apply for consideration for low-interest loans. Each application will be considered on the basis of "the extent of losses, security available, repayment ability and other eligibility requirements," Glickman said in his letter to the governor.

"North Carolina does not have adequate resources to help farmers after a crisis of this magnitude," said state Agriculture Commissioner Jim Graham.

Graham said most counties have suffered a severe deficiency of rainfall since March 1, the date that marks the onset of the growing season in North Carolina.

N.C. Department of Agriculture specialists described a Piedmont area from Burke County down through Alamance County as the hardest hit area of the state.