On Friday, Gov. Chris Christie announced that U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Thomas Vilsack has granted a Natural Disaster Designation for 14 New Jersey counties following Superstorm Sandy, a snowstorm, a Nor’easter, drought, high winds, hail, excessive heat and rain, and flash flooding between June 28 and Nov. 8, 2012.
The disaster designation was requested to open up another avenue of relief to farmers who lost crops or suffered structural damages to their farms through the many severe weather events that befell the Garden State in 2012. The declaration includes Atlantic, Burlington, Camden, Cape May, Cumberland, Gloucester, Mercer, Monmouth, Morris, Ocean, Passaic, Salem, Sussex and Warren counties.
”Superstorm Sandy not only impacted our shoreline, but caused an immense amount of damage for our farmers, who already had suffered losses due to severe weather throughout the season,” said Gov. Christie. “While federal aid is already being provided through a variety of programs, now farmers will have additional federal agriculture disaster assistance to help them get back on their feet.”
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