Contact: Laura Smith, Office of the Governor, 608-261-2162
MADISON – Governor Jim Doyle announced today that U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has declared a disaster in Marathon, Lincoln and Langlade counties, where snow and ice in early May severely damaged the ginseng crop. Governor Doyle requested the declaration this spring, which allows eligible farmers to receive emergency loans and secure crop insurance payments.
“Wisconsin’s ginseng growers are known throughout the world for their high-quality crop, which this year was severely damaged by heavy snowfall and ice in May,” Governor Doyle said. “I want to thank Secretary Vilsack for helping Wisconsin recover as our ginseng farmers work to establish new beds.”
Wisconsin produces 95 percent of the country’s ginseng, and most of it is grown in Marathon, Lincoln and Langlade counties. Ginseng is grown under shade coverings that protect the plants from direct sun. On May 7, four inches of heavy wet snow fell on north central Wisconsin, collapsing most of the shade coverings. Freezing temperatures the following night turned melting snow into ice and killed or damaged a large percentage of the plants.
Ginseng takes three to six years to reach maturity and be harvested, and can be planted on any given parcel of land only once. There are about 200 ginseng growers in Wisconsin with about 1,400 acres in production. In 2007, the most recent year for which statistics are available, the state’s ginseng farmers harvested 400,000 pounds of ginseng, worth about $10 million.
In addition to designating Marathon, Lincoln and Langlade counties as primary natural disaster areas, Secretary Vilsack named the following counties as contiguous disaster counties: Clark, Forest, Menominee, Oconto, Oneida, Portage, Price, Shawano, Taylor, Waupaca and Wood.
A Secretarial disaster designation makes farmers in both primary and contiguous counties eligible to be considered for assistance from the Farm Service Agency (FSA), provided eligibility requirements are met.
Farmers in eligible counties have eight months from the date of the Secretarial disaster declaration to apply for emergency loan assistance. Local FSA offices can provide farmers with eligibility requirements and further information.
