More Disaster Counties & Trade Update

More Disaster Counties & Trade Update. I'm Greg Martin with today's Northwest Report.

Another pair of counties in Oregon have been designated as natural disaster areas due to continued drought conditions. Farmers and ranchers in Grant and Jackson counties as well as all contiguous counties are now eligible for low interest emergency loans from USDA's Farm Service Agency, provided eligibility requirements are met. Farmers in eligible counties have eight months from the date of the declaration to apply for loans to help cover part of their actual losses. In all the declaration affects 13 Oregon counties.

Trade is again an issue on Capital Hill and things like the TPP and TPA are the subject of many discussions. Congressman Dan Newhouse says these agreements are important for ag producers across the U.S.

NEWHOUSE: This is going to be one of those issues that I think will be bi-partisan as it passes through, if we're successful. Where I am at on this, the Trade Promotion Authorities essential I believe because other countries are not going to be as willing to give us the things we need in any kind of agreement. If they're under the requirement of whatever trade deal is negotiated that has to come through and be essentially voted on by 535 more people being the United States Congress. What we're doing is through strict guidelines.

That's today's Northwest Report. I'm Greg Martin on the Ag Information Network of the West.