Cameron County Service Center Updates - June 2025
In This Issue:
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA) announced that Cameron County is accepting applications for the Emergency Conservation Program (ECP) to address damages from flooding that occurred March 27, 2025, through April 2, 2025. ECP provides cost-share and technical assistance to producers to restore farmland to pre-disaster conditions. ECP signup will end on July 9, 2025.
Approved ECP practices include:
- EC1: removing debris from farmland
- EC2: grading, shaping, releveling, or similar measures
- EC3: replacing or restoring permanent fences
- EC4: restoring conservation structures and other installations
Approved ECP applicants can receive up to 75% of the cost of the approved restoration activity with a maximum cost share of $500,000 per natural disaster event.
ECP cost share is authorized to:
- provide reimbursement of costs up to 75% of the total cost of rehabilitating the land, including availability of advance payments for up to 25% of the total allowable cost for all ECP practices before the restoration is carried out, an option that was previously only available for fence repair or replacement. The cost-share payment must be spent within 60 days; and
- allow producers who lease federally owned or managed lands, including tribal trust land, as well as state land, the opportunity to participate in ECP.
Conservation concerns present on the land prior to the qualifying natural disaster event are not eligible for ECP assistance.
For more information on ECP, producers can contact the Cameron County FSA Office at 956-399-1311 x2 or visit farmers.gov/protection-recovery.
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The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) requires Federal agencies to consider all potential environmental impacts for federally funded projects before the project is approved.
For all Farm Service Agency (FSA) programs, an environmental review must be completed before actions are approved, such as site preparation or ground disturbance. These programs include, but are not limited to, the Emergency Conservation Program (ECP), Farm Storage Facility Loan (FSFL) program and farm loans. If project implementation begins before FSA has completed an environmental review, the request will be denied. Although there are exceptions regarding the Stafford Act and emergencies, it’s important to wait until you receive written approval of your project proposal before starting any actions.
Applications cannot be approved until FSA has copies of all permits and plans. Contact your local FSA office early in your planning process to determine what level of environmental review is required for your program application so that it can be completed timely.
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If you’re enrolled in the Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) or Price Loss Coverage (PLC) programs, you must protect all cropland and noncropland acres on the farm from wind and water erosion and noxious weeds. By signing ARC county or individual contracts and PLC contracts, you agree to effectively control noxious weeds on the farm according to sound agricultural practices. If you fail to take necessary actions to correct a maintenance problem on your farm that is enrolled in ARC or PLC, the County Committee may elect to terminate your contract for the program year.
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Farm Service Agency (FSA) is committed to providing our farm loan borrowers the tools necessary to be successful. FSA staff will provide guidance and counsel from the loan application process through the borrower’s graduation to commercial credit. While it is FSA’s commitment to advise borrowers as they identify goals and evaluate progress, it is crucial for borrowers to communicate with their farm loan staff when changes occur. It is the borrower’s responsibility to alert FSA to any of the following:
- Any proposed or significant changes in the farming operation
- Any significant changes to family income or expenses
- The development of problem situations
- Any losses or proposed significant changes in security
If a farm loan borrower can’t make payments to suppliers, other creditors, or FSA on time, contact your farm loan staff immediately to discuss loan servicing options.
For more information on FSA farm loan programs, contact your Hidalgo County USDA Service Center at 956-381-0916 ext 2 or visit fsa.usda.gov.
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The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is extending the rainfall collection period for the Hurricane Insurance Protection – Wind Index (HIP-WI) and the Tropical Storm Option (TS) to include unique circumstances when a storm lingers over a county or re-enters a county.
Beginning with the 2026 crop year, USDA’s Risk Management Agency (RMA) will add one day to the rainfall collection period for each 24 hours that the tropical storm force winds are present within a county. RMA will also add an additional four-day collection period for each instance a storm exits and re-enters a county.
About the Program
HIP-WI and TS are crop insurance tools that help deliver prompt assistance to farmers in hurricane prone areas. These innovative policies build off a farmer’s underlying policy with no additional paperwork or loss adjustment needed. HIP-WI and TS generally pay within weeks following a hurricane or tropical storm – the fastest payments from USDA following a disaster.
HIP-WI provides an indemnity if the county experiences sustained winds of 64 knots during the insurance period. The optional TS can be added to provide 50% of HIP-WI indemnity if the county experiences sustained winds of at least 34 knots and at least six inches of gridded precipitation within the rainfall collection period. The collection period is generally four days – the day the tropical storm enters the county, the day before, and two days after. All windspeed and precipitation data are provided from the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration.
HIP-WI coverage must be purchased by the sales closing date (SCD) of a producer’s underlying policy. Sales closing dates vary by crop. Therefore, producers should check with a crop insurance agent to verify the sales closing date for a crop and county.
Since the implementation of HIP-WI in crop year 2020 and TS in crop year 2023, these programs have paid over $1.6 billion within a few weeks after each tropical cyclone. In 2024, five hurricanes triggered $960 million in payments across nine states (hurricanes Beryl, Debby, Francine, Helene, and Milton).
To find additional information about the policy, including frequently asked questions, videos, and a fact sheet, please visit the HIP-WI website.
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The Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) is sometimes misunderstood. It is perceived by some as complicated or not for small operations, and neither of those perceptions is true. CSP is designed to help you take your existing conservation efforts on your operation to the next higher level while maintaining your current ones. It’s supposed to help you add to what you’re already doing, either by enhancing your current practices or adding new ones.
The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) works one-on-one with you to develop a conservation plan under CSP to implement these additions or enhancements and help strengthen your operation.
Under CSP, you receive annual payments to help you maintain your existing conservation efforts and enhance them using new conservation practices or activities. CSP contracts last five years, with the opportunity to compete for a contract renewal if you successfully fulfill the initial contract and agree to achieve additional conservation objectives.
CSP is often misunderstood, so here are a few “myths” about the program that we want to dispel.
Myth #1: The deadline to apply for CSP in my state has already passed, so I don’t need to think about applying until next year.
Don’t wait to apply! We accept applications year-round, but funding decisions are made locally at specific times and that “ranking date” may be coming up soon in your area. If we already have your application, it will be considered at the next ranking date. Plus, if you start planning now, you will be ready for application ranking dates as they approach. See program application ranking dates for all states at https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/ranking-dates.
Myth #2: Enrolling land in CSP is complicated and time-consuming.
If you have a farm and tract number (available from USDA’s Farm Service Agency) and have kept good farm records, you’re already well on your way. You just need to complete a three-page NRCS-CPA-1200 form, see Applications and Forms. You can even complete this form online if you create a farmers.gov account at https://www.farmers.gov/account.
Read more myths.
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Cameron County USDA Service Center
2315 W Expressway 83
San Benito, TX 78586
Phone: 956-399-1311
FSA: extension 2; NRCS/SWCD: extension 3
Fax: 844-496-8083
Email: txsanbenit-FSA@usda.gov
txsanbenit-NRCS@usda.gov
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Service Center Locator
FSA in Texas
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FSA County Executive Director
Cristobal Perez
FSA Farm Loan Manager
Graciela Pena
FSA Program Analysts:
Irma Garcia
Elsa Moya
Jacqueline Rodriguez
Amber Vega
FSA County Committee (COC):
Natalie Leal
Josue Ruiz
John Scaief
Next FSA COC Meeting:
Jun 10th, 9:00 a.m.
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NRCS Conservation Agronomist/
Acting District Conservationist
Gabriel Cavazos
NRCS Soil Conservationists:
Ryan Facundo
Daniel Vargas
Southmost SWC District Clerk
Angelita Guerra
Southmost Soil and Water Conservation District #319
Board of Directors
Courtney Nash, Chairman
Josue B. Ruiz, Vice Chairman
Juan F. Leal, Jr., Secretary
Samuel Morrow, Member
Ovidio Atkinson, Member
Adrian Perez, Field Representative
Ricardo Chapa, TSSWCB
Ronnie Ramirez, 319 Program
Next SWCD Board Meeting:
Jun 26th, 11:00 a.m.
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Upcoming Meetings:
If you have questions or need to request an accommodation (e.g., an interpreter, translator, seating arrangements, etc.) or materials in an alternative format (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape – captioning, etc.), please contact Cris Perez at
956-399-1311 ext. 2 or cris.perez@usda.gov for the COC meeting or Angie Guerra at 956-399-1311 ext. 3 or angelita.guerra@tx.nacdnet.net for the SWCD meeting.
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