Farm Damage From Tropical Storm Eta? How To Get Help
December 3, 2020 The historic 2020 Atlantic hurricane season has thankfully come to an end. Despite a mind-blowing 30 named storms, Florida was mostly spared from any major impacts. But not everyone came away totally unscathed. Case in point – the agricultural operations that felt flooding and high-wind effects from Tropical Storm Eta last month.
Eta was a unique storm within a remarkable season. It first made headlines as a major Category 4 hurricane that made landfall in Central America. After causing catastrophic damage mostly in Honduras, the system regained form back over waters of the western Caribbean and took a zig-zag route to the northeast, eventually blowing through the Sunshine State as a tropical storm.
With the late-season system in the rear view, the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) is encouraging farmers and livestock producers to seek technical and financial assistance available from USDA.
As growers and ranchers assess damages, they should contact their local USDA Service Center to report losses and learn more about program options available to assist in their recovery from crop, land, infrastructure, as well as livestock losses and damages, FDACS advises.
“This has already been a historically challenging year for Florida’s agriculture producers, made even more difficult by Tropical Storm Eta’s winds and rain,” State Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried commented. “I encourage any producers impacted by this storm to seek disaster assistance through the USDA and its Farm Service Agency, Natural Resources Conservation Service, and Risk Management Agency, our federal partners who are here to help you recover.”
USDA urges farmers and ranchers to contact the Farm Service Agency (FSA) county office to learn which documents should be provided to help the local office expedite assistance, such as farm records, receipts, and pictures of damages or losses.
Here are some helpful resources if seeking disaster aid:
FSA Assistance: Depending on the operation, FSA offers a number of disaster assistance programs to help offset eligible losses, including the Livestock Indemnity Program, Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees, and Farm-Raised Fish Program, Emergency Conservation Program, Emergency Forest Restoration Program, Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program, and Tree Assistance Program. Additionally, producers located in counties with a primary or contiguous disaster designation may be eligible for low-interest emergency loans to help them recover from production and physical losses.
NRCS Assistance: USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) also offers programs to help in the recovery process. The Environmental Quality Incentives Program can help producers plan and implement conservation practices on land impacted by natural disasters. “NRCS can be a very valuable partner to help landowners with their recovery efforts,” said Juan Hernandez, State Conservationist for the NRCS in Florida. “Our staff will work one-on-one with landowners to make assessments of the damages and develop approaches that focus on effective recovery of the land.”
RMA Assistance: Producers with Federal crop insurance coverage should contact their crop insurance agent for assistance. Producers should report crop damage to their agent within 72 hours of damage discovery and follow up in writing within 15 days. (New Hurricane Endorsement Option for Crop Insurance).
FDA Assistance: FDACS also encourages producers to consider the following U.S. Food and Drug Administration resources for food producers and resources for animal food producers impacted by Tropical Storm Eta.
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