Disaster Response

Figures are starting to trickle in on federal assistance in response to this spring’s floods, blizzards, and severe weather. The Nebraska Farm Service Agency (FSA) last week released data on two federal programs which assists producers. The Emergency Conservation Program (ECP) helps farmers and ranchers repair damage to land caused by natural disasters.

According to the FSA, 49 counties in Nebraska are implementing ECP, and as of July 10, there have been 3,739 applications for assistance. Another program, the Livestock Indemnity Program (LIP) assists livestock producers with livestock deaths in excess of normal mortality rates caused by adverse weather. FSA has issued $1.9 million in funding on 296 applications thus far this year. This amount is already more than double that distributed in all of 2018. In 2018, the FSA issued $877,000 on 181 applications through the program.