"The 2014 Farm Bill provides a strong farm safety net to help ranchers during these difficult times,” said Garcia.
“We’ll provide producers with information on new program requirements, updates and signups as the information becomes available. In the meantime, I urge producers to keep thorough records. We know these disasters have caused serious economic hardships for our livestock producers. We’ll do all we can to assist in their recovery.”
In addition to western drought and the early-winter snowstorms, there are a variety of disasters from floods to storms to unexpected freezes. Each event causes economic consequences for farmers and ranchers throughout the U.S.
FSA recommends that owners and producers record all pertinent information of natural disaster consequences, including:
- Documentation of the number and kind of livestock that have died, supplemented if possible by photographs or video records of ownership and losses
- Dates of death supported by birth recordings or purchase receipts
- Costs of transporting livestock to safer grounds or to move animals to new pastures
- Feed purchases if supplies or grazing pastures are destroyed
- Crop records, including seed and fertilizer purchases, planting and production records
- Pictures of on-farm storage facilities that were destroyed by wind or flood waters
- Evidence of damaged farm land
For information about USDA’s Farm Bill implementation plan, visit www.usda.gov/farmbill. 
—From USDA Farm Service Agency news release
