Farmers, ranchers with losses urged to seek assistance
The deadline is approaching for farmers and ranchers to apply for assistance under the 2017 Wildfires and Hurricanes Indemnity Program (2017 WHIP).
The cutoff date for applying for assistance is Nov. 16, according to Christa Kraatz, executive director of the USDA Caldwell-Hays-Comal County Farm Service Agency. “USDA has been working hard to provide assistance to farmers and ranchers impacted by the 2017 wildfires and hurricanes,” she said. “I encourage producers who have not applied to contact our office by Nov. 16 to make an appointment.”
The program, which was authorized by Congress earlier this year, covers eligible crops, trees, bushes and vines located in a county covered by a Presidential Emergency Disaster Declaration or Secretarial Disaster Designation. Losses located in a county not designated as a primary county may also be eligible if the producer provides documentation showing the loss was due to a hurricane or wildfire last year.
A list of counties that received qualifying hurricane declarations and designations is available at the USDA's website. Eligibility is determined by Farm Service Agency (FSA) county committees.
Covered are losses due to excessive rain, high winds, flooding, mudslides, fire and heavy smoke. Typically, 2017 WHIP is only designed to provide assistance for production losses, however, if quality was taken into consideration under the insurance or Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP) policy, where production was further adjusted, the adjusted production will be used in calculating assistance under this program.
Eligible crops include those for which federal crop insurance or NAP coverage is available, excluding crops intended for grazing. A list of crops covered by crop insurance is available through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Actuarial Information Browser.
Producers will be subject to payment limitations based on their average adjusted gross income.
Both insured and uninsured producers are eligible to apply for 2017 WHIP. However, all producers receiving 2017 WHIP payments will be required to purchase crop insurance and/or NAP, at the 60 percent coverage level or higher, for the next two available crop years to meet statutory requirements. Producers who fail to purchase crop insurance for the next two applicable years will be required to pay back the 2017 WHIP payment.
Each producer will be asked to provide acceptable production records which must be either verifiable or reliable production records. If a producer is unable to provide production records, USDA will calculate the production based on the higher of the producer certified production and the county disaster yield.
Contact the Caldwell-Hays-Comal County FSA office at 512-398-4176, ext. 2 to make an appointment to apply. To locate your local FSA office, visit www.farmers.gov. For more information on USDA disaster assistance programs, visit the USDA's website.
