Record rainfalls have cost Arkansas hundreds of millions of dollars. Now the
Senate Agriculture Committee is looking at ways to help strengthen and grow the state's farming industry.
Senator Blanche Lincoln, the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, is holding her first field hearing in Little Rock. Friday she introduced legislation to help farmers recover from the damaging rainfalls.
"The damages are estimated in the $450-$600 million range in the State of Arkansas," said Tom Jones. "If someone is hurting we are all hurting. It's a tough pill to swallow."
"I knew the beans were going to be fantastic beans, but it rained for three weeks and the beans were laying on the ground," said David Hillman. "We had to dig em out of the ground."
"Let's face it; if agriculture suffers losses, the end result is higher cost for food," says Jones.
If Senator Lincoln's bill passes she says farmers can stay in the business they've known their whole lives.
Lincoln introduced her legislation along with U.S. Senator Thad Cochran. If passed it will provide an estimated $1.3 billion in direct payment assistance to farmers in counties declared disaster areas.
