Source: United States Senator for Kentucky Mitch McConnell
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), senior member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, questioned U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, during the Committee’s hearing today, regarding funding for Western Kentucky grain storage facilities damaged when tornadoes hit in December. Western Kentucky lost millions of bushels of grain storage during the tornado. . The entire region was impacted by the loss of multiple storage facilities, with the largest concentration of storage loss in Mayfield.
Earlier this year, Senator McConnell secured language in the Fiscal Year 2022 government funding bill directing the United States Department of Agriculture to identify funding to construct new, temporary storage facilities that could alleviate the pressure during this upcoming harvest. During the hearing, Senator McConnell asked for assurances from Secretary Vilsack that they are working to address the storage issue and if he is confident the funding will be distributed so facilities will be built before the next harvest. Secretary Vilsack said the department is working to “get it resolved as quickly as possible.”
Senator McConnell: “I’m here today Mr. Secretary, because I’ve got a particular problem that I am trying to address but it is ultimately going to come down to you. Here’s what happened, last December we got hit by the biggest tornado we’ve ever had. It actually ended up being on the ground for over 200 miles. It hit and largely destroyed the town of Mayfield, which is the biggest grain storage facility in our state – completely wiped out. So look, I want to thank you for what you all have already done to help on numerous occasions as we try to recover. But, as part of the destruction with this grain storage infrastructure gone in Western Kentucky, not only did we lose millions of bushels of storage, we’ve got a problem that has to be fixed or we’re basically out of business this year. So what I did was put a provision in the Appropriations bill that asked you to identify funding sources that we can address pretty quickly to not completely lose our ability to have storage for this year’s crop. So, I don’t know whether you are already familiar with this or not but I wonder if you have any awareness of it and if you’d give me any assurance that maybe we can address this issue by your decision shortly.”
Secretary Vilsack: “Senator, I am aware. I know that our staff has been in touch with the Farm Bureau down in your state, as well as your own staff. I understand that there is an idea for a series of pop-up storage facilities. I think there are some concerns about precisely how cumbersome that particular solution might be. But, we are very committed to working as expeditiously as possible to provide an alternative and to provide the resources that will allow your farmers to have storage. Totally understand and appreciate the challenges that this presents and we are committed to trying to get it resolved as quickly as possible.”
During the hearing, Senator McConnell also asked Secretary Vilsack to report on what USDA is doing to address the impact inflation is having on farms, small businesses, and families across Kentucky.
Watch the full exchange here: https://youtu.be/HLbAXt5kD5g