USDA ready to help Nebraska farmers and ranchers recover from recent blizzards, floods

LINCOLN, Neb. March 20, 2019 – Extreme weather conditions like the recent “bomb cyclone” and the ongoing flooding impacted many farmers and ranchers in Nebraska. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has disaster assistance programs available to help agricultural producers recover from these natural disasters.

USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA), Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and Risk Management Agency (RMA) offer programs that help producers recover losses, rehabilitating farms and ranches, and managing risk.  

 Recovering Losses

FSA offers many programs to help producers recover from losses, including the Livestock Indemnity Program, the Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees, and Farm-Raised Fish Program, Emergency Forest Restoration Program and the Tree Assistance Program. Producers located in counties receiving a primary or contiguous disaster designation are eligible for low-interest emergency loans to help them recover from production and physical losses.

“FSA has a variety of disaster assistance programs to support farmers and ranchers through times of adversity,” said Nancy Johner, State Executive Director for the FSA in Nebraska. “Once you are able to evaluate your losses, it is important to contact your local FSA office to report all damages and learn more about how we can assist.”

Rehabilitating Farms and Ranches

NRCS provides technical and financial assistance through the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) and other conservation programs to help producers recover and build resilience to better withstand future disasters. NRCS plans to direct additional EQIP funds to cope with livestock lost due to flooding in Nebraska. These dollars will help landowners remove and properly dispose of livestock carcasses that are obstructing streams and waterways.

“NRCS can be a very valuable partner to help landowners with their recovery effort,” said Craig Derickson, State Conservationist for the NRCS in Nebraska. “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.”

Meanwhile, the FSA Emergency Conservation Program provides funding and technical assistance for farmers and ranchers to rehabilitate farmland damaged by natural disasters.

Managing Risk

Producers with coverage through federal crop insurance should contact their agent for issues regarding filing claims. Those who purchased crop insurance will be paid for covered losses.  

RMA Regional Director Collin Olsen said, “If you are concerned that you may not be able to get your crop planted, you should contact your crop insurance agent. The agent can provide details on your prevented planting coverage and how and when to file a claim. The Approved Insurance Providers, loss adjusters and agents are experienced and well-trained in handling these types of events.”

Compensation is also available to producers who purchased coverage through FSA’s  Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program, which protects non-insurable crops against natural disasters that result in lower yields, crop losses or prevented planting. Eligible producers must have purchased NAP coverage for 2019 crops.

Supporting Communities

In addition to helping producers, USDA also offers assistance to local governments and other entities with rebuilding infrastructure and removing debris. The NRCS Emergency Watershed Protection (EWP) program provides assistance to local sponsors with the cost of addressing watershed impairments or hazards like debris removal and streambank stabilization. Interested entities should contact Allen Gehring, NRCS State Conservation Engineer at (402) 437-4037.

More Information

USDA offers a disaster assistance discovery tool that walks producers through five questions to help them identify personalized results of what USDA disaster assistance programs meet their needs. For more information on disaster assistance programs, contact your local USDA service center or farmers.gov/recover.