When disaster strikes, the last thing farmers want to think about is filling out the proper paperwork. Emergency assistance from USDA and other federal agencies can help you get on the road to recovery, but navigating the maze of different program requirements can be tricky. Knowing what to expect and what agencies to contact for assistance is invaluable for farmers who want to be prepared for whatever might come their way.
Here are some tips on what to know when applying for assistance, along with brief outlines of the major USDA programs available to help farmers through climate disasters.
General Tips
Document your damage before cleaning up. Collect photos, notes, descriptions, receipts, and anything to help prove what happened on the farm. These will be important to share with the local FSA office in order to demonstrate eligibility for most federal assistance programs. When sharing photos of the damage with FSA agents, try to only submit the most relevant photos rather than sending huge files, which may not transmit successfully.
Contact agencies ASAP. Local FEMA and USDA agents should be contacted as soon as possible. This is especially true for USDA if you have not previously worked with them. Also, keep a written record of all contacts with people from agencies, insurance companies, contractors, and anyone officially involved in the recovery effort.
Pay attention to deadlines. Deadlines will come up fast! Make sure to book an application appointment with your local agency before the deadline.
Watch for waivers. Agencies sometimes lift or adapt their typical program requirements to make their programs more flexible during extreme disaster events. For example, following Hurricanes Debby, Helene, and Milton, USDA waived inspection requirements for key programs like the Emergency Conservation Program (ECP).
Log your cleanup efforts. Producers should maintain a log documenting the hours of labor spent working on cleanup, the type of equipment used for debris removal, and hours running that equipment. Keep copies of any paid receipts or bills for supplies, equipment rentals, or hired labor.
Farmland Damage Assistance
Emergency Conservation Program (ECP) provides funding and technical assistance to farmers and ranchers to restore farmland damaged by natural disasters. It covers a broad range of repair activities and is one of the most widely used by farmers in RAFI’s network. ECP covers activities like surface debris removal; fence restoration and replacement; sediment removal, incorporation, grading, shaping, and leveling; tree, root, and stump removal; roads, bridges, and culverts necessary to facilitate forest restoration; burning of woody debris; and vegetation removal. Signups for ECP have been extended through June 1, 2025, for producers impacted by Hurricanes Debby, Helene, and Milton, and requirements for onsite inspections and prior approval for certain cleanup activities have been waived.
Emergency Forest Restoration Program (EFRP) assists eligible owners of nonindustrial private forestland to restore the land by removing debris, repairing forestland roads, and replacing fencing. FSA has authorized extended signups for the program through June 1, 2025, for the states impacted by the hurricanes.
Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), run by NRCS, helps producers plan and implement conservation practices on disaster-impacted lands. The practices should address immediate soil erosion protection, including minimizing noxious and invasive plant proliferation and protecting water quality. EQIP can also cover activities like restoring livestock infrastructure necessary for grazing management, emergency animal mortality management, and debris removal.
Emergency Watershed Protection Program (EWP) helps communities address watershed impairments that pose an imminent hazard to life and property caused by natural disasters. EWP covers removing debris from stream channels, road culverts, and bridges; reshaping and protecting eroded banks; correcting damaged drainage facilities; repairing levees and structures; reseeding damaged areas; and relocating people out of hazard-prone areas. EWP participation is only possible through an eligible project sponsor who acts as the fiscal agent for the proposed project. Eligible sponsors can be cities, counties, towns, conservation districts, or federally recognized Native American tribes or tribal organizations. NRCS may cover up to 75% or 90% of the cost of construction of emergency measures in limited-resource areas. The remaining balance (25% or 10%) must come from local sources and can be cash or in-kind services.
Livestock Assistance
Livestock Forage Disaster Program (LFP) provides compensation to eligible livestock producers who have suffered grazing losses due to drought or fire on land that is native or improved pastureland with permanent vegetative cover, or land that is planted specifically for grazing.
Livestock Indemnity Program (LIP) offers benefits to producers who are livestock owners and contract growers who experienced livestock deaths above normal mortality caused by eligible loss conditions such as adverse weather. Producers who are contract growers of poultry, swine, or other confinement livestock with an ownership share or a financial interest in the livestock lost are eligible for LIP. During recent hurricanes, FSA issued guidance to county committees and local staff to allow maximum flexibility in determining acceptable loss documentation.
Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees, and Farm-raised Fish (ELAP) assists with grazing losses due to hurricanes and flooding on affected acres. This covers up to 150 days of grazing for all non-federally managed land. ELAP aids with purchased and produced feed losses due to hurricanes, such as hay bales, stacked hay, corn, silage, etc. Feed that was purchased above normal pricing is also eligible for ELAP assistance. ELAP assistance is based on the value of the acres lost and the number of livestock a producer had at the time of the loss due to the disaster. Authorization for water hauling assistance is also available to producers when costs associated with the task are above normal cost.
Crop and Plant Assistance
Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP) provides financial support to producers of non-insurable crops to protect their crops against natural disasters that may result in lower yields or crop losses or that prevent crop planting. Producers must have NAP coverage before the crop’s sales closing date.
Tree Assistance Program (TAP) provides financial cost-share assistance to qualifying orchardists and nursery tree growers to replant and/or rehabilitate eligible trees, bushes, and vines lost by natural disasters. TAP financial assistance is provided to replace damaged trees, bushes, and vines and bring the land back into production once the producer has restored their land to pre-disaster condition.
This list summarizes some of the most commonly utilized assistance programs but is not comprehensive. Check RAFI’s Navigating Disaster Assistance for Farmers hub for updated details on available programs and their eligibility requirements.
Recovering from a disaster is no simple task, but RAFI’s technical assistance team is committed to helping producers restore “normalcy” as best possible. Please reach out to RAFI’s Farmer Crisis Hotline at 866.586.6746.
Teiara Turner serves as RAFI’s Farm Services Director, overseeing various farmer-serving programs. In 2022, she earned a Masters of Organizational Communication from Queens University of Charlotte and a Nonprofit Professional Certification from the Nonprofit Leadership Alliance. Tee is passionate about learning the inner workings of the agriculture sector and how creating sustainability in this arena can help alleviate food insecurity.