Daviess County approved to implement Emergency Conservation Program (ECP) for land repairs due to flood
Jul 3, 2019 | Agriculture, Community News |
Mother Nature has been tough on Daviess County the past few months, and especially the last few weeks as there has been extreme flooding in the Grand River bottoms. Mandi Bird, County Executive Director at the Farm Service Agency in Gallatin, says her office has been working hard to get approval to implement various disaster related programs to assist landowners and producers.
The Daviess County Committee requested approval to implement the Emergency Conservation Program (ECP) to assist with the rehabilitation of the land once the water recedes.
The National Office has approved this request and the signup period will begin on July 1 and end on Aug. 30. The important thing to remember is that to qualify you must not start any removal of debris or repairs until an application is made and an FSA representative has made an onsite visit.
With that said, the signup period is 60 days in length, so there is no reason to rush in; but instead you need to have an idea of what needs to be completed on the farm before you apply. This disaster approval is limited to acreage in the Grand River bottoms and large tributaries flowing into the Grand River.
For land to be eligible, the natural disaster must create new conservation problems that, if untreated, would:
- Be so costly to rehabilitate that Federal assistance is or will be needed to return the land to productive agricultural use
- Be unusual and not the type that would recur frequently in the same area
- Affect the productive capacity of the farmland
- Impair or endanger the land
A producer qualifying for ECP assistance may receive cost-share levels not to exceed 75% of the eligible cost of restoration measures. No producer is eligible for more than $500,000 cost sharing per natural disaster occurrence. The following types of measures may be eligible:
- Removing debris from farmland
- Grading, shaping, or releveling severely damaged farmland
- Restoring permanent fences
- Restoring conservation structures and other similar installations
Producers who have suffered a loss from a natural disaster may contact the local FSA County Office and request assistance from July 1 to Aug. 30, 2019.
To be eligible for assistance, practices must not be started until all the following are met:
- An application for cost-share assistance has been filed
- The local FSA County Committee (COC) or its representative has conducted an onsite inspection of the damaged area
- The Agency responsible for technical assistance, such as the Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS), has made a needs determination, which may include cubic yards of earthmoving, etc., required for rehabilitation
With the flood there unfortunately were livestock losses and livestock feed losses up and down the river. The Livestock Indemnity Program (LIP) can possibly help with the death of livestock and the Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees, and Farm-Raised Fish Program (ELAP) can possibly help with livestock feed losses, such as bales of hay or silage. The important thing about both programs is that a notice of loss must be filed within 30 days from the date the livestock or feed were lost.
If you have any questions, please contact the FSA office in Gallatin by calling 660-663-3703.
