
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, August 2, 1994                   TAG: 9408020094
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B-2   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: New River Valley Bureau
DATELINE: WHITETOP                                LENGTH: Short

BOUCHER REQUESTS AID FOR TREE FARMERS

Rep. Rick Boucher, D-Abingdon, has asked U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Mike Espy to declare Grayson, Smyth and Washington counties an agricultural disaster area because of weather damage to Christmas tree crops earlier this year.

The unprecedented freeze of May 27 ``occurred at a time when Frazier firs are at their most fragile period of growth, and the resulting damage was devastating,'' Boucher said in a letter to Espy.

``According to preliminary estimates, the growers lost from 60 to 70 percent of their seedlings, and 40 percent of their field trees were damaged.

``The loss in Grayson County, where the preponderance of Frazier firs are grown, exceeds $12 million, and losses for growers in Washington and Smyth counties total approximately $300,000 in each county.''

The state of Virginia also has asked for federal assistance to the more than 130 tree farmers in the region.

Boucher visited the counties after farmers contacted his office about the freeze.

``Because these farmers are not eligible for federal crop insurance under federal guidelines, the federal assistance I am requesting is crucial to the continued existence of this important industry,'' he told Espy.

by CNB