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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 substantially impacted by recent extreme weather condition, tornadoes and flooding. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has technical and financial support offered to assist farmers and animals producers recover from these adverse weather occasions. Impacted producers must contact their regional USDA Service Center to report losses and find out more about program options offered to assist in their healing from crop, land, facilities, and livestock losses and damages.

USDA Disaster Assistance

Producers who experience livestock deaths in excess of normal death may be qualified for the Livestock Indemnity Program (LIP). To take part in LIP, producers will need to supply appropriate paperwork of death losses arising from a qualified negative weather occasion and need to submit a notification of loss and program payment application to the USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) no behind March 2, 2026, for 2025 fiscal year losses. Livestock producers who experience losses related to tornadoes must talk to their regional FSA workplace for LIP eligibility requirements.

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

Additionally, eligible orchardists and nursery tree growers might be qualified 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 catastrophe event or the date when the loss of the trees, bushes or vines appears.

"Impacted manufacturers must timely report all crop, animals and farm infrastructure damages and losses to their local FSA county office as quickly as possible," said Erasmo "Eddie" Trevino, Deputy State Executive Director for FSA in Texas. "As you evaluate your operation, take some time to collect crucial documents you will require to get assistance, including farm records, herd inventory, receipts and photos of damages or losses."

FSA likewise offers a variety of direct and ensured farm loans, including operating and emergency farm loans, to manufacturers unable to protect commercial financing. Producers in counties with a main or contiguous disaster designation might be eligible for low interest emergency situation loans to assist them recuperate from production and physical losses. Loans can assist producers change vital residential or commercial property, purchase inputs like animals, devices, feed and seed, cover household living expenses or refinance farm-related financial obligations and other needs.

Additionally, FSA uses several loan servicing choices offered for debtors who are unable to make scheduled payments on their farm loan programs debt to the agency due to the fact that of factors beyond their control.

The Farm Storage Facility Loan Program (FSFL) provides low-interest funding so producers can build, repair, change or update centers to keep products. Loan terms differ from three to 12 years. Producers who sustained damage to or loss of their equipment or infrastructure funded by the FSFL program must contact their insurance agent and their regional USDA Service Center. Producers in requirement of on-farm storage must likewise get in touch with USDA.

Risk Management

Producers with NAP coverage should report crop damage to their local FSA office and should submit a Notification of Loss (CCC-576) within 15 days of the loss ending up being evident, other than for hand-harvested crops, which should be reported within 72 hours.

Producers with danger security through Federal Crop Insurance must report crop damage to their crop insurance agent within 72 hours of discovering damage and make sure to follow up in composing within 15 days.

"Crop insurance and other USDA danger management alternatives are provided to assist manufacturers manage risk since we never ever understand what nature has in store for the future," said Jim Bellmon, Director of USDA's Risk Management Agency (RMA) Regional Office that covers Texas. "The Approved Insurance Providers, loss adjusters and agents are experienced and trained in handling these kinds of events."

Conservation

FSA's Emergency Conservation Program (ECP) and Emergency Forest Restoration Program (EFRP) can assist landowners and forest stewards with financial and technical help to bring back fencing, damaged farmland or forests, and get rid of debris from feed stocks, water supplies and feeding locations.

USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is always offered to offer technical help throughout the healing process by assisting manufacturers to plan and implement preservation practices on farms and working forests affected by natural disasters. The Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) can assist producers strategy and execute conservation practices on land affected by natural disasters.

"The Natural Resources Conservation Service can be an extremely valuable partner to assist landowners with their recovery and resiliency efforts," stated Kristy Oates, NRCS State Conservationist in Texas. "Our staff will work individually with landowners to make evaluations of the damages and develop approaches that concentrate on effective healing of the land."

Assistance for Communities

Additional NRCS programs include the Emergency Watershed Protection (EWP) program, which helps city government sponsors with the cost of dealing with watershed impairments or hazards such as debris elimination and streambank stabilization.

Eligible sponsors include cities, counties, towns or any federally acknowledged Native American people or tribal organization. Sponsors must submit a formal request (by mail or e-mail) to the NRCS state conservationist for help within 60 days of the natural catastrophe occurrence or 60 days from the date when access to the websites become offered. To find out more sponsors must please contact their regional NRCS office.

Additional USDA catastrophe assistance details can be discovered on farmers.gov, including USDA resources particularly for producers impacted by tornadoes. Those resources include the Disaster Assistance Discovery Tool, Disaster-at-a-Glance fact sheet and Loan Assistance Tool. Additionally, FarmRaise partnered with FSA to release an online education hub consisted of videos, tools and interactive resources, including farm loan details and LIP and ELAP decision tools. For FSA and NRCS programs, producers need to contact their regional USDA Service Center. For assistance with a crop insurance coverage claim, manufacturers and landowners should contact their crop insurance representative.