Columbia, S.C., Sept. 20, 2018 — The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is responding to South Carolina farmers and ranchers who suffered damage to working lands and livestock mortality because of Hurricane Florence. Producers are encouraged to sign up for the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP). USDA is holding a special signup through the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) for agricultural livestock mortality and carcass disposal. Signup is now available in Chesterfield, Marlboro, Dillon, Marion, Horry, Kershaw and contiguous counties. The first signup period ends Sept. 28, 2018. A second signup period will end on Nov. 2, 2018.
Conservation practices also available through EQIP can address flood and wind damage, excessive runoff that is causing hurricane-related natural resource concerns and provide protection from exceptional storm events in the future. Farmers and ranchers seeking NRCS financial and technical assistance can sign up at their local NRCS office.
This assistance is available to individual farmers and ranchers to aid in recovery efforts on their properties and does not apply to local governments or other entities.
For more information from NRCS, contact your local USDA Service Center or visit the South Carolina NRCS website at www.sc.nrcs.usda.gov. For more information on disaster assistance programs for farmers and ranchers, visit farmers.gov/recover.
# USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer and lender.
Source: U.S. Department of Agriculture
