USDA Disaster Assistance to Help Thousands of Honeybee, Livestock and Farm-Raised Fish Producers
2014 Farm Bill Program Offers Producers in Over 40 States Relief
for 2012 and 2013 Losses
WASHINGTON, Nov. 24, 2014 – The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA
today announced that nearly 2,500 applicants will receive disaster
assistance through the Emergency Assistance for Livestock,
Honeybees, and Farm-Raised Fish Program (ELAP) for losses suffered
from Oct. 1, 2011, through Sept. 30, 2013.
The program, re-authorized by the 2014 Farm Bill, provides disaster
relief to livestock, honeybee, and farm-raised fish producers not
covered by other agricultural disaster assistance programs. Eligible
losses may include excessive heat or winds, flooding, blizzards,
hail, wildfires, lightning strikes, volcanic eruptions, and
diseases, or in the case of honeybees, losses due to colony collapse
disorder. Beekeepers, most of whom suffered honeybee colony losses,
represent more than half of ELAP recipients.
“As promised, we’re making sure that thousands of producers who
suffered through two and a half difficult years without Farm Bill
assistance, are getting some relief,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom
Vilsack “Once the Farm Bill was restored, not only did we implement
the disaster assistance programs in record time, we’re issuing
payments less than three months after the enrollment deadline. The
funds will hopefully help producers with some of the financial
losses they sustained during that time.”
The Farm Bill caps ELAP disaster funding at $20 million per federal
fiscal year. To accommodate the number of requests, which exceeded
funds available for each of the affected years, payments will be
reduced to ensure that all eligible applicants receive a prorated
share of assistance.
ELAP was made possible through the 2014 Farm Bill, which builds on
historic economic gains in rural America over the past five years,
while achieving meaningful reform and billions of dollars in savings
for the taxpayer. Since enactment, USDA has made significant
progress to implement each provision of this critical legislation,
including providing disaster relief to farmers and ranchers;
strengthening risk management tools; expanding access to rural
credit; funding critical research; establishing innovative
public-private conservation partnerships; developing new markets for
rural-made products; and investing in infrastructure, housing and
community facilities to help improve quality of life in rural
America. For more information, visit
www.usda.gov/farmbill.
To learn more about USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) disaster
assistance programs, visit the FSA factsheet page at
www.fsa.usda.gov/factsheets or contact your local
FSA office at
http://go.usa.gov/pYV3.
USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer. To file a
complaint of discrimination, write: USDA, Office of the Assistant
Secretary for Civil Rights, Office of Adjudication, 1400
Independence Ave., SW, Washington, DC 20250-9410 or call (866)
632-9992 (Toll-free Customer Service), (800) 877-8339 (Local or
Federal relay), (866) 377-8642 (Relay voice users).
http://www.fsa.usda.gov/FSA/newsReleases?area=newsroom&subject=landing&topic=ner&newstype=newsrel&type=detail&item=nr_20141124_rel_0258.html |