October 20, 2021 10:50 a.m. 

Four Oregon lawmakers are calling for expanded agricultural assistance to farmers in Oregon and Washington.

U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley and Representatives Peter DeFazio and Suzanne Bonamici have called on the U.S. Department of Agriculture to take all statutory eligibilities into account when distributing $10 billion in aid to agricultural producers hit hard by extreme heat, drought and wildfires this summer.

The letter to U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack from the Oregon lawmakers as well as 12 of their colleagues from Washington, noted that the funds were included in legislation that passed and became law in September. This was part of the Extending Government Funding and Delivering Emergency Assistance Act.

The group said that agricultural producers were hit hard by the extreme weather conditions which led to related crop quality losses. They said that many of the producers who suffered some of the greatest heat-related losses, were either located in counties not covered by drought designations, experienced losses not covered by drought assistance programs, or both. The legislation contained new flexibilities to amend a previous authorization, including coverage for losses related to excessive heat and smoke exposure for wine grapes, and inclusive of crop quality loss and damage to on-farm stored commodities.