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MEDIA RELEASE 056 CONTACT: Robert Ishikawa, Kauai County Executive Director (808) 245-9014 ext 2
CONTACT: James Robello, Maui County Executive Director (808) 871-5500 ext 2
(Lihue, Hawaii, April 13, 2012) Farmers and ranchers in Kauai and Maui counties who have suffereddamages from the severe rainstorms in early March of this year may be eligible for assistance under the Emergency Conservation Program (ECP) administered by the USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA).
Criteria for the program includes the following:
- Damage is so costly to rehabilitate that Federal assistance is required to return the land to productive agricultural use
- Damage is unusual in character and is not the type that would recur frequently in the same area
- Damage materially affects the productive capacity of the farmland
- Damage impairs or endangers the land if not treated
A producer qualifying under ECP may receive cost share assistance up to 75 percent of the eligible cost of restoration measures, with no producer eligible to receive more than $200,000 per natural disaster occurrence. The following types of practices may be eligible for cost share assistance:
- Removing debris from farmland
- Grading, shaping, or re-leveling severely damaged farmland
- Restoring permanent fences
- Restoring conservation structures
To be eligible for assistance, practices may not be started until all of the following are met: - An application for cost-share assistance has been filed (Form FSA-848, Cost Share Request).
- Onsite inspection of the damaged area by the FSA.
- The agency responsible for technical assistance, such as the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), has made a needs determination.
Producers who have suffered a qualifying loss from this natural disaster may sign up for ECP now through May 8, 2012. For further information please contact the USDA Kauai County FSA Office at 245-9014, or on Maui, Molokai or Lanai call the Maui County FSA Office at 871-5500, extension 2.
To file a complaint of discrimination, write to USDA, Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue, S.W., Stop 9410, Washington, DC 20250-9410, or call toll-free at (866) 632-9992 (English) or (800) 877-8339 (TDD) or (866) 377-8642 (English Federal-relay) or (800) 845-6136 (Spanish Federal-relay). USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer and lender.
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