KINGSTON – Three area county executives are asking the US Department of Agriculture to approve Governor Kathy Hochul’s request for a federal disaster designation following April’s catastrophic crop losses suffered by farmers across the Hudson Valley and other regions of the state.
Ulster County Executive Jen Metzger, Orange County Executive Steven Neuhaus and Dutchess County Executive Sue Serino urged immediate federal action to support fruit, vegetable, and specialty crop growers who suffered widespread damage from extreme spring weather.
Those three counties are among the largest producers of apples (Ulster ranks second in the state), and producers of pears, cherries, and other stone fruit, grapes, strawberries, and onions.
Farmers lost as much as 90 percent of this year’s crops. Across New York’s farming regions, it is estimated to be more than $30 million in crop losses.
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