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Evening Observer, Dunkirk, New York
29 Aug09 – “The United States Department of Agriculture has
designated Chautauqua and Cattaraugus Counties as Ag-disaster areas
after an unseasonal frost severely damaged vineyard crops in the
Lake Erie Region in May.
“From May 16 through May 26, temperatures in the Lake Erie Region
dropped to between 25 degrees F and 29 degrees F, affecting
vineyards ranging from Erie County, Pennsylvania all the way to
Niagara County, New York. Estimated crop loss to grape growers in
Chautauqua and Cattaraugus counties ranged from 25 to 35%.
"The weather was unexpected and came late in the
year. It caused millions of dollars in losses for area grape growers,"
said state Sen. Young.
The natural disaster designation applies to Broome, Chautauqua, Clinton,
Erie and Ulster counties and the contiguous counties also eligible for
assistance are Cattaraugus, Chenango, Columbia, Cortland, Delaware,
Dutchess, Essex, Franklin, Genesee, Greene, Niagara, Orange, Sullivan,
Tioga and Wyoming.
"This is a big win for the counties across New York state that were
severely damaged during May's freezes and high winds," said U.S. Sen.
Charles Schumer in a news release.
"This is great news for Western New York," Senator Kristen Gillibrand
said in a news release. "Western New York is known for its world-class
vineyards, and the late freeze this spring was devastating to local
farmers."
I wonder if these Senators are worried about global
warming.
See entire article:
http://www.observertoday.com/page/content.detail/id/528492.html?nav=5047
Thanks to Stephanie Relfe for this link |