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Half Of US Counties Deemed ‘Natural Disaster Areas’
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On Wednesday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture reported half of the nation's counties have been declared disasters because of severe droughts that has affected the West, Midwest and Southeast. NBC's Anne Thompson reports.
Just over half of the counties in the U.S. are now labeled "natural disaster areas" after the U.S. Department of Agriculture on Wednesday added 218 counties in 12 states to the list.
With drought drying up food crops and animal feedstock, the USDA also said it was allowing haying and grazing on 3.8 million protected acres, many of them wetlands, and that insurance companies agreed to a 30-day grace period for farmers on insurance premiums."The assistance announced today will help U.S. livestock producers dealing with climbing feed prices, critical shortages of hay and deteriorating pasturelands," Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said in a statement announcing the moves.
