2010-08-01 Drought Res & ltr to Gov McDonnellPITTSYLVANIA COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
RESOLUTION
2010-08-01
VIRGINIA: At the regular meeting of the Pittsylvania County Board of Supervisors held in the General
District Courtroom of the Edwin R. Shields Courthouse Addition in Chatham, Virginia on Monday,
August 2, 2010, the following resolution was presented and adopted:
WHEREAS, Pittsylvania County has experienced an intense early to mid season drought has
encompassed the entire geographical area of the County that has significantly affected many annual
crops and most perennial corps including hay and pasture; and
WHEREAS, due to the sever nature of this drought most pastureland has been over-grazed and
many farmers have started utilizing what little winter feed is available and there is a strong possibility of
very limited harvest of fall hay crops as a result of this unprecedented dry period; and
WHEREAS, the loss of revenue due to these environmental factors has caused a significant
financial burden on the agricultural community in Pittsylvania County; and
WHEREAS, conservative figures estimates that these drought conditions have negatively
affected more the 48,000 acres of pastures, with pasture loss estimated to be approximately 50% or
$4,900,000 of value and have also affected 66,000 acres of hay land with estimated losses of 50% or
$5,900,000 of hay value; then
BE IT HEREBY RESOLVED, that the Pittsylvania County Board of Supervisors declare a
disaster area in Pittsylvania County due to the extreme drought and petition the Honorable Robert F.
McDonnell, Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia, to declare Pittsylvania County a disaster area
due to the extreme drought conditions in order to provide the means for those affected to qualify for any
available relief assistance; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that a copy of this Resolution be forward to the Honorable
Robert F. McDonnell, Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia, to be forwarded to the U.S.
Department of Agriculture on the behalf of Pittsylvania County.
Given under my hand this 2°d day of August, 2010.
C
I-henry A. Dais, Jr., Chairman
Pittsylvanj.~County Board of Supervisors
William D. Sleeper~lerk /
Pittsylvania Count Board of Supervisors
~~~~~~~1~ ~~ ~~ ~J A~ ~~
VIRGINIA
William D. Sleeper
County Administrator
P.O. Box 426
Chatham, Virginia 24531
dan.sleeper@pittgov.org
Phone (434) 432-7710
Fax (434) 432-7714
Gretna/Hurt (434) 656-6211
Bachelors Hall/Whitmell (434) 797-9550
August 4, 2010
Honorable Robert F. McDonnell
Office of the Governor
Patrick Henry Building
Executive Office Building, 3`d Floor
1111 East Broad Street
Richmond, VA 23219
Re: Drought Resolution -Pittsylvania County
Dear Governor McDonnell:
I am sure you are aware of the conditions concerning the agricultural sectors of Virginia and the
existing drought conditions. Attached hereto, you will find a Resolution from the Pittsylvania County
Board of Supervisors passed on Monday, August 2, 2010 requesting you to declare Pittsylvania County
a disaster area due to the extreme drought conditions that have caused severe crop, pasture, hay land
damage and the depletion of water supply for cattle.
If you require any additional information concerning this request, please do not hesitate to contact my
office. Yo~ attention in this matter is greatly appreciated.
Since y,
,~ ~
illiam D. Sleepe
County Administrator
WDS/rf
Attachment
Cc: Honorable Members of the Board of Supervisors
Honorable John P. Light, Legal Counsel
Jay Calhoun, Chairman, Agricultural Development Board
Jamie Stowe, Extension Agent, Pittsylvania County Virginia Cooperative Extension
Virginia Cooperative Extension
A partnership of Virginia Tech and Virginia State University
VirginiaTech 'T ;T~~°'a' ~T~
College ofAgrlCUlture ~ ~
and Life Sciences `Y (1.' ~''~'
Pittsylvania County Office
P. O. Box 398 - 1 Center Street
Chatham, VA 24531-0398
434/432-7770 or 656-6211, Ext. 7770
Fax: 434/432/7777;
instoweCa2vt.edu
http:/loffices.ext.vt.edu/pittsylvan is
July 28, 2010
Mr. Dan Sleeper
County Administrator, Pittsylvania County
P. O. Box 426
Chatham, VA 24531
Dear Mr. Sleeper:
As I am sure you are aware, Pittsylvania County has been experiencing drought conditions and
extremely high temperatures since June despite rain early in the growing season. These drought
conditions encompass the entire county and have greatly affected most crops raised in the county.
This year's crop has already been affected and we expect crop conditions to continue to decline. The
Food and Agriculture Committee, composed of USDA agencies and VCE, met earlier in July to
determine estimated losses. They are as follows:
Corn 50% loss estimated at 531,000 bushels and $2.1 million
Mixed Forage 50% loss estimated at 66,000 tons and $5.9 million
Oats 37% loss estimated at 130,000 bushels and $432,000
Soybeans 50% toss estimated at 124,500 bushels and $1.1 million
Burley Tobacco 45% loss estimated at 298,000 pounds and $551,000
Flue Tobacco 35% loss estimated at 3.9 million pounds and $6.9 million
Dark Fire Tobacco 35% loss estimated at 15,800 pounds and $34,200
Cool Season Grass 50% loss estimated at $9.9 million
In addition to these estimated crop losses, livestock watering has been affected, producers are
reducing herd numbers, weight gain decreases in this type of weather and there is increased incidence
of pink eye.
Virginia Cooperative Extension-Pittsylvania County Office requests that you present this information to
the Board of Supervisors and ask that they pass a resolution to petition the Governor to request that
Pittsylvania County be declared a drought disaster for this growing season. If you should have any
questions or need clarification, please let me know. Thank you for your assistance-and attention to this
matter.
Sincerely,
amie N. Stowe
Extension Agent, ANR (Animal Science)
C: Brian Calhoun
www. ext. vt. edu
Extension is a joint program of Virginia Tech, Virginia State University, the U.S. Department of Agricukure, and state and local governments.
Virginia Cooperative Extension programs and employment are open to all, regardless of race, color, national origin, sex, religion, age, disability,
political beliefs, sexual orientation, or marital or family status. An equal opportunity/affirmative action employer.
PITTSYLVANIA COUNTY
.3
DEVELOPMENT BOARD
Fred P. Wydner, 111
38 North Main Street
Chatham, VA 24531
Office: (434) 432-7993
Mobile: (434) 250-1633
t~ed.wvdner a,pittgov.org
www. p ittcoagriculture. org
July 23, 2010
To: County Administrator Dan Sleeper
Re: Drought Disaster Assistance
Dear Mr. Sleeper:
In conjunction with the Pittsylvania County office of the Virginia Cooperative Extension, the Ag
Development Board would like to notify you that drought conditions have caused farm losses throughout
Pittsylvania County. An intense early to mid season drought has encompassed the entire geographical
area of the county. This drought has significantly affected many annual crops and most perennial crops
including hay and pasture. Due to the severe nature of this drought most pastureland has been over-
grazed and many farmers have started utilizing what little winter feed is available. Additionally, there is a
strong possibility of very limited harvest of fall hay crops as a result of this unprecedented dry period.
Conservative figures estimate that these drought conditions have negatively affected more than 48,000
acres of pasture. Pasture loss is estimated to be approximately 50% or $4,900,000 in value. Drought
conditions also affected 66,000 acres of hay land with estimated losses of 50% or $5,900,000 of hay
value.
Therefore, the Ag Development Board requests that by way of resolution, the Pittsylvania County Board
of Supervisors petition the governor as to the economic losses and declare a state of emergency.
Should you have any questions regarding this information, please contact my office.
Respectfully,
,~~D~ ~,
y
Fred P. (Freddi Wydner, III
Pittsylvania County Agricultural Development Director
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~'®1~Il1D~l®1~~1~d41L7191h~ ®~ ~1111>L~
Office of the CJovernor
P.O. Box 1475
Richmond, Virginia 23218
August 10, 2010
Mr. William D. Sleeper
County Administrator
Pittsylvania County
P.O. Box 426
Chatham, VA 24531
Dear Mr. Sleeper:
~ - -
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f~''~ AUG 1 1 2010 J
;~ ~ ~
Thank you for sending Governor McDonnell the resolution adopted by the County of
Pittsylvania Board of Supervisors requesting disaster designation due to the agricultural loss as a
result of the extreme drought conditions in your county.
At the Governor's request, I am coordinating a review of the damages experienced by
Pittsylvania County and have asked that the Commissioner ofAgriculture and Consumer
Services to work with officials of the United States Department of Agriculture's Farm Service
Agency in Virginia to obtain a formal, up-to-date report of agricultural damages experienced by
Pittsylvania County. The Governor will need to present this official loss assessment report when
seeking a federal disaster designation for your locality. I will share with you any correspondence
our office sends to the United States Secretary of Agriculture on behalf of Pittsylvania County.
Thank you again for bringing your county's agricultural emergency to our attention.
Sincerely,
m) !/ 1
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Todd P. Haymore
Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry
cc: The Honorable Marla Graff Decker, Secretary of Public Safety
Melissa Laughner, Office of the Governor
Matt Lohr, Commissioner, Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services
Michael M. Cline, State Coordinator, Department of Emergency Management