A drought has caused severe damage in Pratt & Barber County.
If you have lost a functioning water source due to the drought, you may be eligible for assistance for Drought Emergency Measures under the Emergency Conservation Program (ECP). Drought emergency measures under ECP include adding water conservation and enhancement measures to permit grazing of range, pasture, or forage by livestock. Measures include water well construction or deepening, spring development, installing pipe, well pumps, and storage facilities, including tanks.
For land to be eligible, the natural disaster must create new conservation problems that, if untreated, would:
- be so costly to rehabilitate that Federal assistance is or will be needed to return the land to productive agricultural use
- is unusual and is not the type that would recur frequently in the same area
- affect the productive capacity of the farmland
- impair or endanger the land
If you qualify for ECP assistance, you may receive cost-share levels not to exceed 75 percent of the eligible cost of restoration measures. Eligible socially disadvantaged and beginning farmers and ranchers can receive up to 90 percent of the eligible cost of restoration. No one is eligible for more than $500,000 cost sharing per natural disaster occurrence.
If you’ve suffered a loss from a natural disaster, contact the local FSA County Office and request assistance from July 11 to September 8, 2023.
To be eligible for assistance, practices must not be started until all of the following are met:
- an application for cost-share assistance has been filed
- the local FSA County Committee (COC) or its representative has conducted an onsite inspection of the damaged area
- the Agency responsible for technical assistance, such as the Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS), has made a needs determination, which may include cubic yards of earthmoving, etc., required for rehabilitation
In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), FSA must complete an environmental compliance review prior to producers taking any actions.
For more information about ECP, contact the Pratt County USDA Service Center at 620-672-7449, the Barber County USDA Service Center at 620-886-5311 or visit fsa.usda.gov.
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