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Emergency Conservation Program Signup: October 15, 2024 through June 1, 2025 for Hurricane Helene.
Acreage Reporting Deadline for Fall Seeded Crops: December 15, 2024: Wheat, Oats, Barley.
Hurricane and Flooding has caused severe damage in both Washington and Unicoi Counties.
If you’ve suffered severe damage, you may be eligible for assistance under the Emergency Conservation Program (ECP) administered by the Washington/Unicoi County Farm Service Agency (FSA)
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.
To be eligible for assistance, practices must not be started until all 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
The information below describes some of the current FSA program flexibilities and waivers, as of Oct. 3, 2024, available for producers impacted by Hurricane Helene:
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Emergency Conservation Program (ECP) :
- Extended ECP signup that begins Oct. 15, 2024, and runs through June 1, 2025, in states affected by Hurricane Helene.
- Waiver of onsite inspection requirement for non-engineering practices for ECP.
- Executed Emergency Response (ER-850) authorization of emergency National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) circumstances to expedite FSA approval of practices involving surface debris removal, fence restoration, and non-ground disturbing activities.
For more information about ECP and other Disaster Programs, contact your Washington/Unicoi County USDA Service Center at 423-753-4441 or visit fsa.usda.gov.
The Livestock Indemnity Program (LIP) provides assistance to you for livestock deaths in excess of normal mortality caused by adverse weather (including floods), disease and attacks by animals reintroduced into the wild by the federal government or protected by federal law.
For disease losses, FSA county committees can accept veterinarian certifications that livestock deaths were directly related to adverse weather and unpreventable through good animal husbandry and management.
You must file a notice of loss and provide the following supporting documentation to your local FSA office no later than 60 calendar days after the end of the calendar year in which the eligible loss condition occurred.
- Proof of death documentation
- Copy of grower’s contracts
- Proof of normal mortality documentation
USDA has established normal mortality rates for each type and weight range of eligible livestock, i.e. Adult Beef Cow = 1.5%. These established percentages reflect losses that are considered expected or typical under “normal” conditions. In addition to filing a notice of loss, you must also submit an application for payment for 2024 calendar year losses by March 3, 2025.
For more information about LIP, contact your Washington/Unicoi County USDA Service Center at 423-753-4441 or visit fsa.usda.gov.
If you’ve suffered livestock feed or grazing losses due to recent flooding, you could be eligible for assistance through the Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees, and Farm-Raised Fish Program (ELAP).
ELAP covers physically damaged or destroyed livestock feed that was purchased, or mechanically harvested forage or feedstuffs intended for use as feed for your eligible livestock. In order to be considered eligible, harvested forage must be baled. Forage that is only cut, raked or windrowed is not eligible. You must submit a notice of loss to your local FSA office no later than the annual program application deadline of January 30 following the program year in which the loss occurred.
ELAP also covers up to 150 lost grazing days in instances when you’ve been forced to remove livestock from a grazing pasture due to wildfire.
You should maintain records and receipts documenting that livestock were removed from the grazing pasture due to flood, costs of transporting livestock feed to eligible livestock, receipts for equipment rental fees for hay lifts, feed purchase receipts and the number of gallons of water transported to livestock due to water shortages.
For beekeepers, ELAP covers beehive losses (the physical structure) in instances where the hive has been destroyed by a natural disaster including flooding. For honeybee losses, you must notify FSA within 15 calendar days of when a loss occurs or from when the loss is apparent.
For more information regarding ELAP, contact your Washington/Unicoi County USDA Service Center at 423-753-4441 or visit fsa.usda.gov/disaster.
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If you’ve suffered excessive livestock death losses and grazing or feed losses due to recent floods, you may be eligible for disaster assistance programs through the USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA).
The Livestock Indemnity Program (LIP) offers payments to you for livestock death losses in excess of normal mortality due to adverse weather and the Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees, and Farm-Raised Fish Program (ELAP) provides emergency relief for losses due to feed or water shortages, disease, adverse weather, or other conditions, which are not adequately addressed by other disaster programs.
To participate in LIP, you will be required to provide verifiable documentation of death losses resulting from an eligible adverse weather event, and you must complete and submit the notice of loss to FSA no later than the annual program payment application date, which is 60 calendar days following the program year in which the loss occurred. To participate in ELAP, you must submit a notice of loss to your local FSA office no later than the annual program application deadline of January 30 following the program year in which the loss occurred and should maintain documentation and receipts.
You should record all pertinent information regarding livestock losses due to the eligible adverse weather or loss condition, including:
- Documentation of the number, kind, type, and weight range of livestock that have died, supplemented if possible by photographs or video records of ownership and losses;
- Rendering truck receipts by kind, type and weight - important to document prior to disposal;
- Beginning inventory supported by birth recordings or purchase receipts;
- Documentation from Animal Plant Health Inspection Service, Department of Natural Resources, or other sources to substantiate eligible death losses due to an eligible loss condition;
- Documentation that livestock were removed from grazing pastures due to an eligible adverse weather or loss condition;
- Costs of transporting livestock feed to eligible livestock, such as receipts for equipment rental fees for hay lifts and snow removal;
- Feed purchase receipts if feed supplies or grazing pastures are destroyed;
For more information on these programs and documentation requirements, contact your Washington/Unicoi County USDA Service Center at 423-753-4441 or visit fsa.usda.gov/disaster.
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