The U.S. Department of Agriculture is offering help to farmers and livestock producers impacted by the recent tornadoes.
Producers who experience livestock deaths "in excess of normal mortality" or sell injured livestock at a reduced price may be eligible for the Livestock Indemnity Program (LIP). To participate, producers have to provide acceptable documentation of death losses or evidence of reduced sales resulting from an "eligible adverse event," and submit a notice of loss to the USDA Farm Service Agency no later than March 1, 2027, for 2026 calendar year losses.
The Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees, and Farm Raised Fish Program (ELAP) provides eligible producers with compensation for feed and grazing losses. For honeybees, ELAP may cover colony losses and damage to hives and purchased or produced feed.
ELAP may also cover purchased or produced farm-raised fish feed losses for feed that was intended to be fed to eligible farm-raised fish along with any physical inventory loss of the eligible farm raised fish. For ELAP, producers have to complete a notice of loss and submit an application for payment to their local FSA office no later than March 1, 2027, for 2026 losses.
Eligible orchardists and nursery tree growers may be eligible for cost-share assistance through the Tree Assistance Program (TAP) to replant or rehabilitate eligible trees, bushes or vines. TAP complements the Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP) or crop insurance coverage, which covers crop but not the plants or trees in all cases. A program application must be filed within 90 days of the disaster event or the date when the loss of the trees, bushes or vines is apparent.
FSA also offers direct and guaranteed farm loans, including operating and emergency farm loans, to producers unable to secure commercial financing. Producers in counties with a primary or contiguous disaster designation may be eligible for low interest emergency loans to help them recover from production and physical losses.
FSA offers several loan servicing options for borrowers who are unable to make scheduled payments on their farm loan programs debt to the agency because of reasons beyond their control.
The Farm Storage Facility Loan Program (FSFL) provides low-interest financing so producers can build, repair, replace or upgrade facilities. Loan terms vary from three to 12 years. Producers who incurred damage to or loss of their equipment or infrastructure funded by the FSFL program should contact their insurance agent and their local USDA Service Center. Producers in need of on-farm storage should also contact USDA.
Producers with NAP coverage should report crop damage to their local FSA office and must file a Notice of Loss (CCC-576) within 15 days of the loss becoming apparent, except for hand-harvested crops, which should be reported within 72 hours. Producers with risk protection through Federal Crop Insurance should report crop damage to their crop insurance agent within 72 hours of discovering damage and be sure to follow up in writing within 15 days.
Conservation FSA’s Emergency Conservation Program (ECP) and Emergency Forest Restoration Program (EFRP) can help landowners and nonindustrial forest owners with financial assistance to restore damaged farmland and conservation structures or forests.
The Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) can help producers plan and implement conservation practices on land impacted by natural disasters.
NRCS programs include the Emergency Watershed Protection (EWP) program, that helps local government sponsors with the cost of addressing watershed impairments or hazards such as debris removal and streambank stabilization.
Eligible sponsors include cities, counties, towns or any federally recognized Native American tribe or tribal organization. Sponsors must submit a formal request (by mail or email) to the NRCS state conservationist for help within 60 days of the natural disaster occurrence or 60 days from the date when access to the sites become available.
Source - https://www.wandtv.com
