North East, Pa (WJET/WFXP)– For some grape growers along Lake Erie, disaster struck in March when global beverage company, Refresco, told them they would be terminating their contracts immediately, leaving them with a surplus of grapes, and no one willing to buy them.
At the federal level, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has the power to make emergency loans available when certain officials request it after a disaster hits.
But under the USDA’s Emergency Loan Program, the market disruptions grape growers are facing don’t necessarily qualify as a disaster – only natural disasters that caused severe production losses like droughts, flooding or diseases.
Grape growers’ livelihood in jeopardy after processor terminates contracts
However, one local lawmaker is drafting legislation to allow Pennsylvania’s Agricultural Business Development Center to deploy short-term disaster funding at the state level…