Resources for farmers affected
by Hurricane Idalia

Leah Androski
ECB Publishing, Inc.

Here is a resource for farmers to use if they received damage from Hurricane Idalia.
USDA provides multiple disaster assistance programs to help losses as well as crop insurance and other coverage options to help manage the risk and provide a safety net. USDA’s Farm Service Agency, Natural Resources Conservation Service, and Risk Management Agency offers a number of options.
Here are some protection options:
• Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) and Price Loss Coverage (PLC): provides income support to farmers from substantial drops in crop prices or revenues.
• Dairy Margin Coverage (DMC): provides dairy operations with risk management coverage that pays producers when the difference between the national price of milk and the average cost of feed falls below a certain level.
• Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP): helps manage risk through coverage for both crop losses and crop planting that was prevented due to natural disasters. The eligible or “noninsured” crops include agricultural commodities that are not covered by federal crop insurance. Farmers must be enrolled in the program and have purchased coverage for the crop in the crop year in which the loss occurred to receive program benefits following a qualifying natural disaster.USDA offers multiple hurricane, tropical storms, tropical depression; etc. disaster assistance programs that help with recovery:
Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees and Farm-raised Fish program: provides emergency assistance to eligible farmers of livestock, honeybees and farm-raised fish. This covers losses due to an eligible adverse weather event and covers expenses associated with transportation of water and feed to livestock.
Livestock Indemnity Program (LIP): provides benefits to livestock owners and contract growers who experience livestock deaths in excess of normal mortality caused by adverse weather, disease or animal attacks.
Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program: provides financial assistance to farmers of non-insurable crops to protect against natural disasters that result in lower yields or prevents crop planting. Farmers must obtain NAP coverage for the crop year in which the loss occurred.
Tree Assistance Program (TAP): provides cost-share assistance to replant or rehabilitate trees, bushes or vines lost during a natural disaster. This also provides assistance for trees, bushes or vines not covered by the Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program or crop insurance.
Emergency Conservation Program and Emergency Forest Restoration Program: provides financial and technical assistance to restore things like fencing, damaged farmland or forests.
Environmental Quality Incentives Program: provides financial and technical assistance to practice conservation. Common practices to help recover include: obstruction removal, clearing and snagging, repair of access roads, repair of fences and land smoothing.
Farm Loans USDA offers multiple direct and guaranteed loans, including operating and emergency loans to eligible farmers unable to secure commercial financing. Loans can help farmers: replace essential property, cover family living expenses or refinance farm-related debts and purchase inputs like livestock, equipment, feed and seed.
Emergency Watershed Program (EWP): provides advice and financial assistance to relieve imminent threats to life and property caused by floods, fires, windstorms and other natural disasters that impair a watershed. EWP Recovery addresses erosion related watershed impairments by supporting activities such as reshaping and protecting eroded banks, correcting damaged drainage facilities, repairing levees and structures, reseeding damaged areas and removing debris from stream channels, road culverts and bridges. EWP Floodplain Easement offers an alternative method from the EWP Program Recovery. NRCS recommends this option to landowners and other where acquiring an easement is the best option to reduce threat to property and/or life.
Farm Storage Facility Loan Program (FSFL): provides low-interest financing so farmers can build or upgrade facilities to store commodities. Loan terms vary from three to 12 years. Farmers who have damage to or loss to their equipment or infrastructure funded by the FSFL program, should contact their insurance agent and their local USDA Service Center. Farmers in need of on-farm storage should also contact USDA.If you were impacted by a natural disaster and you have an interest in participating in a disaster assistance program, you should report losses and damages to FSA and/or your Approved Insurance Provider for crop insurance claims. The timelines for all notices of loss and submit applications differ from every program. Here are the timelines for every available program: Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees and Farm-raised Fish Program: file with your Service Center within 30 days for livestock and fish and within 15 days for honeybees. Tree Assistance Program: file with your Service Center within 90 days. Non-insured Crop Disaster Assistance Program: file with your Service Center within 15 days.If you are seeking assistance for damages caused by the hurricane, visit https://www.farmers.gov/protection-recovery/hurricane or call the FSA Producer Hotline at 1-877-508-8364. The FSA Hotline is available Monday to Friday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Farmers encouraged to complete
UF/IFAS Idalia survey

Laura Young
ECB Publishing, Inc.

Jefferson County Ag Agent, De'Anthony Price, has been checking in with local farmers about the effects of Hurricane Idalia on their operations. He encourages agricultural producers who have experienced losses and/or damage from Hurricane Idalia to complete the UF/IFAS survey at go.ufl.edu/IdaliaAgImpacts. The data collected through this survey will help ensure that governmental agencies have an accurate representation of damages and losses, which can
aid in relief efforts.
One local producer with crop losses from Idalia is Fulford Farms. Ernest Fulford reports that his cotton crop got slapped flat to the ground by Idalia. The plants had a heavy boll load, and the losses could be significant. He won't know for sure, though, until harvest time in early November, because his insurance agent says he has to try to harvest what he can. Between now and then, some of the plants may lift themselves up a bit, but whatever remains touching the ground will rot and fall off. Fulford's not even sure the cotton picker will work properly on mature bolls when the time comes. Because the cotton plants became so tangled and twisted in the wind, some bolls may fly off before they can be taken into the harvester. Fulford wants an insurance agent on hand to observe what actually happens when he tries to bring his cotton crop in so that his losses are fairly assessed.
In addition to cotton, Fulford also grows peanuts and soybeans. They look okay at the moment, he says. However, it's possible that Hurricane Idalia sucked up some salt water from the Gulf of Mexico and flung it into these fields. Saltwater intrusion of this kind won't show up for a couple of weeks yet. If the leaves do turn brown, Fulford says these crops will be lost as well.
While Fulford has to wait and see what his insurance will cover, he's already submitted an application with the USDA for disaster assistance.
The USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) has a hotline for producers who have experienced hurricane-related losses and/or damage. For help and information, call 1-877-508-8364 Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., or send an email to the FSA disaster group inbox at FPAC.FSA.FLFSA.Disaster@USDA.GOV.
Locally, Ag Agent Price is available as well and is continuing to check in with producers in the area. He can be reached at (850) 342-0187 or deanthonyprice@ufl.edu.
“Please let me know if there is anything I can do to assist you,” says Price. “We will get through this together.”