The U.S. Department of Agriculture's recent update about billions of dollars in relief for the nation's food producers staggered by two years of natural disasters is intended to help them recover, a USDA under secretary said.
Program benefits, in which the USDA is expected to provide $10 billion in relief, will include about $750 million to livestock producers severely impacted by ongoing drought, according to a Feb. 3 department news release. Robert Bonnie, USDA under secretary for farm production and conservation, gave the update during this year's Cattle Industry Convention & NCBA Trade Show in Houston the same day, according to the news release.
"Over the past two years, as agricultural producers have struggled with the ongoing impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, many have been hard-hit by more frequent and more intense natural disasters," Bonnie said.
The relief will be provided "with the help of Congress," Bonnie said.
"As we work to administer this assistance, we remain guided by our goals to streamline the application process to reduce the burden on producers, proactively include underserved producers who have been left out of past relief efforts and encourage participation in existing risk management tools that can help producers weather future extreme weather events,” Bonnie said.
The money will come from the Extending Government Funding and Delivering Emergency Assistance Act signed by President Joe Biden in late September. The Act includes the $10 billion in assistance to agricultural producers who suffered from droughts, wildfires, hurricanes, winter storms and other natural disasters in 2020 and 2021. The Act specifically set aside the $750 million in assistance to livestock producers for losses they incurred in 2021.
Bonnie told convention attendees that USDA plans a two-phased process for the relief to livestock and crop producers, with the first phase accessed by a streamlined process relying on Livestock Forage Disaster Program data that producers previously provided. The streamlined application process is expected to require no or minimal additional paperwork and at least half of the hundreds of millions earmarked for cattle producers should be distributed in the first phase, expected to end in March.
More USDA disaster assistance information, including the Disaster Assistance Discovery Tool, Disaster-at-a-Glance fact sheet, and Farm Loan Discovery Tool, can be found online at farmers.gov. Information relevant to USDA's Farm Service Agency and Natural Resources Conservation Service programs is available at producers' local USDA Service Center. For crop insurance claim assistance, contact a local crop insurance agent.
