Farm aid for 22 counties

Governor Sonny Perdue announced today United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Edward T. Schafer has declared 22 eligible Georgia counties disaster areas as a result of the damage sustained from Tropical Storm Fay. The designation was sent in response to Governor Perdue’s request submitted in September.

“Agriculture is Georgia’s largest industry and the backbone of our economy,” said Governor Perdue. “I’m pleased the federal government agrees we should do everything in our power to assist farmers in counties that have been hit hard by Tropical Storm Fay.”

Based on USDA Damage Assessment Reports, farmers in 22 counties experienced enough damage to peanuts, cotton and corn crops to qualify for the disaster declaration. Eligible farmers in designated counties that meet the criteria may apply for a USDA low interest loan at their county Farm Service Agency (FSA) office. The 22 counties are listed below:

Baker, Berrien, Brantley, Brooks, Charlton, Clinch, Colquitt, Decatur, Early, Echols, Grady, Lanier, Lee, Lowndes, Miller, Mitchell, Pierce, Randolph, Seminole, Thomas, Ware and White.

25 additional counties were named as contiguous disaster counties. They are listed below:

Appling, Atkinson, Bacon, Calhoun, Camden, Clay, Coffee, Cook, Crisp, Dougherty, Glenn, Habersham, Hall, Irwin, Lumpkin, Quitman, Stewart, Sumter, Terrell, Tift, Towns, Union, Wayne, Webster, and Worth.

For more information, please visit www.fsa.usda.gov.

(Press Release from office of Governor Sonny Perdue)

Food plant accuses inspector of food contamination

Employees of a beef processing plant in Augusta are accusing a federal inspector of allegedly contaminating some of the plant's food products.

Gary Casella is an inspector with the U.S. Department of Agriculture and has been assigned to the FPL plant.

Attorneys for the the plant say he allegedly tainted food products with fecal material.

They also accuse Casella of unfairly and harshly scrutinizing employees there.

FPL says Casella's alleged actions have come in retaliation to a sexual harassment grievance filed against him by a female employee at FPL.

The company has filed a federal lawsuit against him and the USDA.

Casella was set to return to the plant last week, but officials with the U.S. Agriculture Department have agreed to delay his return until FPL attorneys can appeal that decision. FPL attorneys, meanwhile, have filed a motion for a temporary restraining order against him.

Officials at the U.S. Agriculture Department have declined to comment on the case. An attorney currently representing the Agriculture Department did not return a phone call regarding the case. The department has not yet responded to the federal lawsuit, which was filed earlier this month.

Augusta was the center of an unrelated food scare this summer.

Castleberry's, another food plant in Augusta, had a massive recall of canned food products and was shut down for several weeks after botulism was found in its canned chili sauce.