USDA agricultural relief available to farmers
Several forms of agricultural relief are now available for flood victims from the U. S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Because of the Presidential disaster declarations for 28 Indiana counties, including Randolph County, those counties will also receive primary agricultural disaster designation. Available assistance includes:
· Low-interest emergency loans from the USDA Farm Service Agency. Farmers in primary and contiguous counties are also eligible for low-interest emergency loans from the USDA Farm Service Agency.
· USDA has also extended the 2008 final crop reporting certification deadline to August 15, 2008. Because of extreme weather conditions, many farmers have not filed a 2008 acreage report or requested prevented planting or failed acreage credit. This deadline has now been extended and late fees will not be assessed if the information is submitted by August 15.
· Individual farmers can also enroll for assistance through USDA's Emergency Conservation Program (ECP) from June 23 through July 11. ECP provides emergency funding and technical assistance for farmers to rehabilitate farmland damaged by natural disasters. ECP participants can receive cost-share assistance of 75 percent or more of the cost to implement approved emergency conservation practices such as removal of debris and restoration of fences and conservation structures. ECP is administered by state and county FSA.
· Counties can apply for USDA's Emergency Watershed Protection (EWP) program immediately. The goal of the EWP program is to undertake emergency measures to relieve imminent hazards to life and property created by a natural disaster. Activities under this program could include providing financial and technical assistance to remove debris from streams, protect destabilized stream banks, establish cover on critically eroding lands and repair conservation practices. USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service administers the EWP program. More information on the EWP program, including how to apply, can be found at the following link: www.in.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/EWP/EWPhomepage.html.
“Farmers across the state are focused on cleaning up their properties and getting back into operation,” said Governor Daniels. “But I want to remind farmers they may be eligible for individual assistance through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for damage to their homes and other personal property. It's important that farmers apply for this assistance, too.”
Also, some workers may be eligible for special Disaster Unemployment Assistance Benefits (DUA). To be eligible for assistance, workers or self-employed individuals, such as farmers, must be unemployed as a result of the federally declared disaster. The deadline for affected workers to file is Saturday, July 19, 2008.
Unemployment assistance is available to unemployed workers if, as a direct result of the disaster, the individual:
€ No longer has a job.
€ Is unable to reach his or her place of work
€ Was to commence work and does not have a job or is unable to reach the job.
€ Has become the primary means of support for the household because the head of household died as a direct result of the disaster.
€ Cannot work because of a disaster-related injury.
Interested claimants may apply for benefits at their local WorkOne center. To find the location of the closest WorkOne center go to http://www.in.gov/dwd/WorkOne/regions.html.
The assistance from the USDA is in addition to the assistance being offered by FEMA, including: up to $28,000 in outright grants; below-market interest rates on loans up to $200,000; and small business loans up to $1.5 million.
However, residents must make sure they apply for these programs. Representatives from FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Administration) have already visited Randolph County, but they were here to assess whether the county qualified for the disaster declaration that made the assistance available.
Residents must still call the FEMA number (1-800-621-3362) to start their own individual applications. Hundreds of FEMA appraisers are expected to be in Indiana.
