Aid Available for Agricultural Producers Affected by 2005 Hurricanes

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced that $2.8 billion in aid will go to victims of the 2005 hurricanes. USDA will provide $1.2 billion in aid to agricultural producers; primarily in Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina and Texas. Disaster payments will go to farmers, ranchers and others through eight separate programs.

Funding is provided through Section 32 of the Act of August 24,1935 and The Department of Defense, Emergency Supplemental Appropriations to Address Hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico, and Pandemic Influenza Act, 2006.

USDA is providing $250 million for crop disaster, livestock, tree and aquaculture assistance from Section 32 funds. These funds will be distributed by way of five
new programs:

* Hurricane Indemnity Program (HIP)
* Tree Indemnity Program (TIP)
* Feed Indemnity Program (FIP)
* Livestock Indemnity Program (LIP)
* Aquaculture Grants

Producers in Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina and Texas counties declared primary presidential or secretarial disaster areas in 2005 because of hurricanes are eligible for the new programs. A complete list of the counties is posted online at www.usda.gov. Producers must also meet other eligibility requirements.

USDA's Farm Service Agency will administer the five programs. Sign-up dates for the HIP, TIP, FIP and LIP programs will be announced as soon as new regulations and software are developed. Governors or their designees will make application procedures for aquaculture funds.

HIP will provide payments to farmers who received crop insurance or Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP) payments as a result of the hurricanes. The payment will be 30 percent of the crop insurance indemnity or NAP payment and will be capped at 95 percent of the expected crop returns.

TIP will provide flat payments per acre for the replanting and rehabilitation (such as pruning or staking) of perennial orchards, vines and bushes that produce an annual crop damaged as a result of the hurricanes. Loss levels will be established by tiers of damage. USDA anticipates four tiers with one covering producers who had 90 percent or greater loss, and the other three tiers covering the remainder of the spectrum. Producers will certify to the tier that corresponds to their level of loss. Payments will not be made on a reimbursable basis. Timber losses are not included in this program.

FIP will provide payments to eligible owners and cash lessees of certain types of forage based livestock for feed losses. The payment rate will be equal to a set amount per type of livestock. To be eligible for payments, producers must self-certify to feed losses.

LIP will provide payments to producers whose livestock died as a direct result of the hurricanes. The payment will be based on 75 percent of the average sales price for each category of livestock. Payments will be included for contract growers of livestock, such as poultry, who lost livestock.

USDA will provide block grants to states adversely affected by the hurricanes in 2005 for aquaculture losses. Aquaculture producers not covered by other disaster programs will be eligible for these funds.

In addition to the Section 32 funds, USDA is providing $903.9 million to agricultural producers adversely affected by the 2005 hurricanes. Producers will receive assistance through the Emergency Conservation Program (ECP), the Emergency Forestry CRP and the Emergency Watershed Program (EWP).

Eligible producers can apply now at their USDA Service Center for ECP funds to remove hurricane debris from farmland. EWP funds for eligible projects are available today. Sign-up dates for the Emergency Forestry Conservation Reserve Program will be announced later.

Through ECP, emergency funding and technical assistance for farmers and ranchers are available to rehabilitate farmland damaged by natural disasters and for carrying out emergency water conservation measures in periods of severe drought. The funds will be administered by FSA and will include expanding the
authority for ECP to make payments to nursery, oyster and poultry producers so they can rehabilitate public and private oyster reefs; clean structures such as barns and poultry houses; provide water to livestock and remove debris. Funds will be provided for qualified nursery producers to clean up nursery structures, shade-houses and above ground irrigation facilities; qualified oyster producers to refurbish oyster beds; qualified poultry producers to remove poultry house debris, including carcasses.

The ECP will make funds available to poultry growers who suffered uninsured losses to poultry houses. Payments to poultry growers are limited to 50 percent of the total costs associated with the restoration of a poultry house - or $50,000 for each poultry house. There is a further limit for poultry growers in that the total amount of assistance provided under the ECP and any indemnities for losses to poultry house paid to a poultry grower (insurance payments), cannot exceed 90 percent of the total costs associated with the reconstruction or repair of a poultry house.

Payments to private nonindustrial forest landowners is limited to 75 percent of the cost of reforestation, rehabilitation, and related measures, not to exceed
$150 per acre. The landowners must have suffered a loss of at least 35 percent of the forest acres on commercial forest land.

CRP funds will be also be administered by FSA for a CRP pilot project for merchantable timber losses on private non-industrial forests. Owners of land must have experienced at least a 35 percent loss of merchantable timber.

EWP payments will be administered by USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service to repair damages resulting from hurricanes that occurred during calendar year 2005. Payments will help cover financial and technical assistance to remove and dispose of debris and animal carcasses that could adversely affect health and safety on non-Federal land in a hurricane-affected county.

Emergency funding and technical assistance will be available to help landowners and communities respond to emergencies created by natural disasters, including
clearing debris from clogged waterways, restoring vegetation, stabilizing river banks, repairing levees and structures; reseeding damaged areas; and
purchasing floodplain easements. All projects undertaken, with the exception of floodplain easements, must be sponsored by a legal subdivision of the State and could include a city, county, conservation district or Native American tribe. Public and private landowners are eligible for assistance but must be represented by a project sponsor.

NRCS provides up to 75 percent of the funds needed to restore the natural function of a watershed and up to 90 percent in limited resource areas. The
community or local sponsor of the work pays the remaining cost-share, which can be provided by cash or in-kind services. Sponsors are also responsible for providing land rights to do repair work and securing the necessary permits. Sponsors are also responsible for furnishing the local cost share and for accomplishing the installation of work.

For more information about these and other USDA disaster programs, visit www.usda.gov.

Source: James Novak, (novakjl@auburn.edu,) Extension Economist, Alabama Cooperative Extension System (334) 844-3512.

Posted by dreynold at January 31, 2006 04:02 PM | TrackBack