Farm Service Agency
Public Affairs Staff
1400 Independence Ave SW
Stop 0506, Room 3624-South
Washington, D.C. 20250-0506

 
Release No. 1478.08

 
Kerry Humphrey (202) 720-9733

 
$87.5 MILLION AIDS PRODUCERS PROTECTING CONSERVATION USES AFTER FLOODS AND DROUGHT

 
MITCHELL, S.D., Aug. 21, 2008 - Agriculture Secretary Ed Schafer today announced that farmers and ranchers will receive USDA funding to repair land damage created by natural disasters in 34 states since September 2007.

 
Producers will use the $87.5 million in Emergency Conservation Program (ECP) funding for removal of farmland debris, restoring fences and repairing conservation structures which were caused or damaged by floods, and for carrying out emergency water conservation measures in response to severe drought.

 
"This funding will allow farmers and ranchers to repair the unusually harsh damage to conservation efforts caused by the disaster conditions, notably flooding and drought," said Schafer. "USDA has worked shoulder to shoulder with producers when weather turns against them, and we remain involved to help in the weeks and months of recovery afterward."

 
For land to be eligible, the natural disaster must create new conservation problems that:
  • if untreated, will impair or endanger the land;
  • materially affect the land's productive capacity;
  • represent unusual damage that, except for wind erosion, is not of the type likely to recur frequently in the same area; and
  • would be so costly to repair that federal assistance is or will be required to return the land to productive agricultural use.

 
All of the above conditions must be met for eligibility. Conservation problems existing prior to the disaster are not eligible for cost-share assistance. FSA county committees determine land eligibility based on on-site inspections of damage, taking into account the type and extent of damage.

 
The states and estimated dollar amounts for ECP funding are:

 
$87,527,100 to Rehabilitate Lands for
Emergency Conservation Needs
Alabama
$359,000
Mississippi
$431,000
Arkansas
$4,633,000
Montana
$1,683,000
California
$27,000
North Carolina
$766,000
Colorado
$354,600
Nebraska
$2,010,000
Connecticut
$51,000
Nevada
$187,000
Georgia
$4,089,000
Oklahoma
$10,219,000
Hawaii
$415,000
Oregon
$579,000
Iowa
$12,208,500
South Carolina
$782,000
Idaho
$93,000
South Dakota
$1,825,000
Illinois
$9,473,000
Tennessee
$4,491,000
Indiana
$10,742,000
Texas
$5,767,000
Kansas
$610,000
Utah
$193,000
Kentucky
$2,840,000
Virginia
$1,400,000
Maine
$101,000
Vermont
$45,000
Michigan
$34,000
Washington
$2,298,000
Minnesota
$713,000
Wisconsin
$3,037,000
Missouri
$5,051,000
Wyoming
$20,000

 
A detailed list of counties and associated specific disasters is on FSA's Web site at: http://www.fsa.usda.gov/Internet/FSA_File/ecpcounties.pdf. A national map with a visual depiction of the affected counties and disaster types is on the FSA Web site at: http://www.fsa.usda.gov/Internet/FSA_File/ecpmap.pdf.

 
The $87.5 million comes from an appropriation of $89.4 million for ECP. The remainder will be allocated as additional requests are processed. For further information on eligibility requirements as well as applications, producers may visit their local FSA office or online at http://disaster.fsa.usda.gov.

 
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NOTE: FSA news releases are available on FSA's Web site at: http://www.fsa.usda.gov via the "News and Events" link.