Blunt wants 67 counties declared disaster areas

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Gov. Matt Blunt is asking the U.S. Department of Agriculture to declare 67 Missouri counties natural disaster areas. Blunt sent a letter to Secretary of Agriculture Ed Schafer on Monday asking him to declare the 67 counties as natural disaster areas for agricultural losses due to excessive moisture and flooding related damages. Blunt recently dispatched the Missouri Farm Service Agency to assess the damage in the 67 counties. The agency found that estimated yields in some or all of the counties are lower than average, with farmers noting production losses of more than 30 percent.