|
Written by Dave Blanks
|
|
Friday, 13 April 2007 04:27 |
|
The Easter weekend cold snap could end up costing North Carolina as much as $112 million in crop losses according to the State Agriculture Department. Preliminary estimates show the hardest hit were nursery crops, such as ornamental trees, bushes and sod.
They suffered the highest losses at almost $60 million. The department says $26.5 million worth of fruits and vegetables were lost to the cold weekend. The Agriculture Department tallied the numbers from “flash” reports submitted by U.S. Farm Service Agencies across the state. Those reports put the cost of the damage at $111.7 million with all 100 counties reporting. Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler urged farmers to continue to report losses so the state can get a complete picture of losses. Agriculture department spokesman Brian Long said it was too early to know if there would be any federal assistance for the farmers.
|
