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USDA Offers Disaster Assistance to Agricultural Producers in Texas Impacted by Recent Severe Weather, Tornadoes and Flooding

COLLEGE STATION/TEMPLE, Texas, April 10, 2025 - Agricultural operations in Texas have actually been significantly affected by current extreme weather, twisters and flooding. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has technical and monetary help available to help farmers and animals manufacturers recover from these unfavorable weather condition occasions. Impacted manufacturers ought to call their regional USDA Service Center to report losses and find out more about program options offered to assist in their healing from crop, land, infrastructure, and livestock losses and damages.

USDA Disaster Assistance

Producers who experience animals deaths in excess of normal mortality may be qualified for the Livestock Indemnity Program (LIP). To take part in LIP, manufacturers will have to offer acceptable documents of death losses resulting from a qualified adverse weather occasion and must send a notification of loss and program payment application to the USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) no later on than March 2, 2026, for 2025 calendar year losses. Livestock producers who experience losses related to tornadoes need to consult their local FSA office for LIP eligibility criteria.

Meanwhile, the Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees, and Farm-Raised Fish Program (ELAP) provides qualified producers with settlement for feed and grazing losses. For ELAP, producers are needed to complete a notification of loss and send a payment application to their regional FSA workplace no later than the yearly program application deadline, March 2, 2026, for 2025 calendar year losses.

Additionally, eligible orchardists and nursery tree growers may be eligible for cost-share help through the Tree Assistance Program (TAP) to replant or fix up qualified trees, bushes or vines. TAP matches the Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP) or crop insurance protection, which covers the crop but not the plants or trees in all cases. For TAP, a program application must be filed within 90 days of the disaster event or the date when the loss of the trees, bushes or vines appears.

"Impacted producers should timely report all crop, animals and farm infrastructure damages and losses to their local FSA county office as quickly as possible," stated Erasmo "Eddie" Trevino, Deputy State Executive Director for FSA in Texas. "As you assess your operation, require time to gather crucial files you will require to get help, consisting of farm records, herd stock, receipts and photos of damages or losses."

FSA also provides a variety of direct and ensured farm loans, consisting of operating and emergency situation farm loans, to manufacturers not able to secure business funding. Producers in counties with a primary or contiguous catastrophe designation may be qualified for low interest emergency loans to help them recuperate from production and physical losses. Loans can assist producers replace essential residential or commercial property, like livestock, devices, feed and seed, cover family living expenditures or refinance farm-related debts and other needs.

Additionally, FSA provides a number of loan servicing choices readily available for debtors who are not able to make scheduled payments on their farm loan programs financial obligation to the agency since of reasons beyond their control.

The Farm Storage Facility Loan Program (FSFL) provides low-interest funding so producers can build, repair, replace or upgrade centers to keep commodities. Loan terms differ from 3 to 12 years. Producers who incurred damage to or loss of their equipment or facilities moneyed by the FSFL program should call their insurance representative and their local USDA Service Center. Producers in requirement of on-farm storage must likewise call USDA.

Risk Management

Producers with NAP protection must report crop damage to their regional FSA workplace and should file a Notice of Loss (CCC-576) within 15 days of the loss ending up being evident, other than for hand-harvested crops, which must be reported within 72 hours.

Producers with threat protection through Federal Crop Insurance ought to report crop damage to their crop insurance coverage agent within 72 hours of discovering damage and make certain to follow up in writing within 15 days.

"Crop insurance coverage and other USDA threat management options are provided to help producers handle threat because we never know what nature has in shop for the future," stated Jim Bellmon, Director of USDA's Risk Management Agency (RMA) Regional Office that covers Texas. "The Approved Insurance Providers, loss adjusters and representatives are knowledgeable and well-trained in handling these types of occasions."

Conservation

FSA's Emergency Conservation Program (ECP) and Emergency Forest Restoration Program (EFRP) can assist landowners and forest stewards with monetary and technical help to restore fencing, harmed farmland or forests, and remove debris from feed stocks, water products and feeding locations.

USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is always offered to supply technical support during the healing process by helping manufacturers to prepare and execute conservation practices on farms and working forests impacted by natural disasters. The Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) can assist producers plan and execute preservation practices on land impacted by natural disasters.

"The Natural Resources Conservation Service can be a really important partner to help landowners with their healing and resiliency efforts," stated Kristy Oates, NRCS State Conservationist in Texas. "Our staff will work one-on-one with landowners to make assessments of the damages and establish techniques that concentrate on reliable healing of the land."

Assistance for Communities

Additional NRCS programs consist of the Emergency Watershed Protection (EWP) program, which assists local government sponsors with the expense of dealing with watershed problems or risks such as particles elimination and streambank stabilization.

Eligible sponsors include cities, counties, towns or any federally acknowledged Native American people or tribal company. Sponsors should submit a formal demand (by mail or e-mail) to the NRCS state conservationist for help within 60 days of the natural disaster event or 60 days from the date when access to the sites appear. For more details sponsors need to please call their local NRCS workplace.

Additional USDA catastrophe help info can be found on farmers.gov, consisting of USDA resources specifically for producers impacted by twisters. Those resources consist of the Disaster Assistance Discovery Tool, Disaster-at-a-Glance reality sheet and Loan Assistance Tool. Additionally, FarmRaise partnered with FSA to release an online education hub consisted of videos, tools and interactive resources, consisting of farm loan details and LIP and ELAP choice tools. For FSA and NRCS programs, manufacturers need to call their local USDA Service Center. For support with a crop insurance claim, producers and landowners must contact their crop insurance representative.