USDA Offers Disaster Recovery Assistance to Agricultural Producers in Texas Impacted by Recent Flooding

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Texas, May 28, 2024 - The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has technical and financial help available to help farmers and animals producers across Texas recover from current flooding. Impacted manufacturers need to call their local USDA Service Center to report losses and find out more about program options offered to help in their healing from crop, land, facilities, and animals losses and damages.

USDA Disaster Recovery Assistance

Producers who experience animals deaths in excess of regular death might be qualified for the Livestock Indemnity Program (LIP). To take part in LIP, producers will have to provide acceptable paperwork of death losses arising from an eligible adverse weather occasion and should send a notice of loss to the USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) no later than the annual program payment application date, which is 60 calendar days following the fiscal year in which the loss occurred. The LIP payment application and notification of loss due date is March 3, 2025, for 2024 calendar year losses.

Meanwhile, the Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees, and Farm-Raised Fish Program (ELAP) offers qualified producers with settlement for feed and grazing losses. For ELAP, producers are needed to complete a notification of loss and a payment application to their local FSA office no later on than Jan. 30, 2025, for 2024 calendar year losses.

Additionally, qualified orchardists, vintners and nursery tree growers may be qualified for cost-share support through the Tree Assistance Program (TAP) to replant or rehabilitate qualified trees, bushes or vines. TAP matches the Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP) or crop insurance coverage, which covers the crop but not the plants or trees in all cases. For TAP, a program application should be filed within 90 days of the catastrophe occasion or the date when the loss of the trees, bushes or vines is apparent.

"Staff at your regional FSA county office will link you with the programs finest suited to satisfy your requirements based upon your reported losses or damages," said Kelly Adkins, State Executive Director for FSA in Texas. "To help us help you, please be prepared to provide documents, such as farm records, herd inventory, invoices and images of damages or losses, and report damages and losses as quickly as you are able to assess disaster effect on your operation."

FSA likewise provides a variety of direct and guaranteed farm loans, including operating and emergency situation farm loans, to producers unable to protect commercial financing. Depending upon program funding accessibility, manufacturers in counties with a primary or contiguous catastrophe designation might be eligible for low-interest emergency loans to assist them recover from production and physical losses. Loans can assist producers change essential residential or commercial property, purchase inputs like animals, devices, feed and seed, cover family living costs or refinance farm-related financial obligations and other needs. Additionally, FSA provides several loan maintenance options offered for borrowers who are unable to make scheduled payments on their farm loan programs debt to the company since of factors beyond their control.

Producers who have risk protection through federal crop insurance or FSA's NAP should report crop damage to their crop insurance coverage representative or FSA workplace, respectively. If they have crop insurance coverage, producers must offer a notice of loss to their representative within 72 hours of preliminary discovery of damage and follow up in writing within 15 days.

For NAP covered crops, a Notification of Loss (CCC-576) type need to be submitted within 15 days of the loss emerging, other than for hand-harvested crops, which need to be reported within 72 hours.

"Because there is constantly the possibility of losses from floods and other natural disasters, USDA offers crop insurance coverage and danger management to assist manufacturers alleviate the financial effect of losses arising from disaster occasions, like these, that are beyond their control," stated James Bellmon, Director of RMA's Regional Office that covers Texas. "Our representatives, loss adjusters, and Approved Insurance Providers are prepared to support you through the difficult catastrophe healing procedure."

FSA's Emergency Conservation Program (ECP) can help landowners with financial and technical support to get rid of particles from farmland such as woody material, sand, rock and products from collapsed hoop houses/high tunnels on cropland or pastureland. Through the program, FSA can supply help toward the repair or replacement of fences including livestock cross fences, limit fences, livestock gates or wildlife exemption fences on agricultural land.

USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is always available to provide technical assistance throughout the recovery procedure by assisting producers to prepare and carry out conservation practices on farms, cattle ranches and working forests affected by natural disasters. The Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) can help producers strategy and implement preservation practices on land impacted by natural catastrophes.

NRCS likewise administers the Emergency Watershed Protection (EWP) program, which offers help to city government sponsors with the expense of attending to watershed disabilities or dangers such as debris removal and streambank stabilization. The EWP Program is a healing effort aimed at alleviating impending risks to life and residential or commercial property brought on by floods, fires, windstorms and other natural disasters. All projects should have an eligible job sponsor. NRCS might bear up to 75% of the qualified building and construction cost of emergency situation measures (90% within county-wide limited-resource locations as identified by the U.S. Census information). The remaining expenses should originate from local sources and can be in the form of money or in-kind services.

EWP is designed for installation of healing steps to protect life and residential or commercial property as an outcome of a natural disaster. Threats that the EWP Program addresses are termed watershed disabilities. These consist of, but are not limited to:

- Debris-clogged waterways.
- Unstable streambanks.
- Severe erosion jeopardizing public infrastructure.
- Wind-borne debris removal.

Eligible sponsors consist of cities, counties, towns or any federally recognized Native American people or tribal organizations. Sponsors need to have the ability to offer the local building share, acquire licenses and site gain access to and accept perform operations and upkeep of the constructed tasks. Willing sponsors need to send an official request (by mail or email) to the state conservationist for help within 60 days of the natural disaster occurrence or 60 days from the date when access to the websites appear. For additional information, potential sponsors must contact their local NRCS workplace.

"NRCS can be a very valuable partner to assist neighborhoods with their recovery efforts," said Kristy Oates, NRCS State Conservationist in Texas. "Emergency Watershed Protection assists secure communities from additional damage and dangers to life and residential or commercial property triggered by the results of flooding in watersheds. We can deal with a local sponsor to assist cover the expenses of debris elimination and other disaster mitigation. Our personnel will deal with communities to make assessments of the damages and establish techniques that focus on effective recovery of the land."

Additional USDA disaster assistance info can be found on farmers.gov, consisting of USDA resources particularly for producers impacted by flooding. Those resources include the Disaster Assistance Discovery Tool, Disaster-at-a-Glance truth sheet and Loan Assistance Tool. For FSA and NRCS programs, producers ought to contact their local USDA Service Center. For support with a crop insurance claim, manufacturers and landowners ought to call their crop insurance agent.

USDA touches the lives of all Americans every day in numerous positive ways. In the Biden-Harris administration, USDA is changing America's food system with a higher focus on more durable regional and local food production, fairer markets for all producers, making sure access to safe, healthy and nutritious food in all neighborhoods, constructing brand-new markets and streams of income for farmers and manufacturers utilizing climate-smart food and forestry practices, making historical investments in infrastructure and clean energy abilities in rural America, and devoting to equity throughout the Department by removing systemic barriers and constructing a labor force more representative of America. To read more, see www.usda.gov.