“In recent weeks, millions of Americans have been affected by Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and the wildfires in the West,” Secretary Perdue said. “USDA employees have been working tirelessly and will continue to stand ready to help those in need.

As we head down the path to recovery, I am encouraged by the resilience of America’s farmers, ranchers and the American people as a whole that we can come together and get through this trying time.”

The USDA’s Operations Center is activated 24-7 to inform the secretary and the USDA’s leadership team.

An incident management team supports the USDA Operations Center and will remain in effect through both Hurricane Harvey recovery and Hurricane Irma’s response and recovery.

In a continuing effort to better serve the public, the USDA partnered with the Federal Emergency Management Agency and other disaster-focused organizations to create the Disaster Resource Center website to provide an easy access point to find USDA disaster information and assistance.

The USDA also encourages residents and small businesses in impact zones to contact the following offices to meet their crop and livestock losses.

Crop and livestock loss

The USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) administers many safety-net programs to help producers recover from eligible losses, including the Livestock Indemnity Program, the Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees and Farm-Raised Fish Program, Emergency Forest Restoration Program and the Tree Assistance Program.

The FSA Emergency Conservation Program provides funding and technical aid to rehabilitate farmland damaged by natural disasters.

Producers in counties that received a primary or contiguous disaster designation are eligible for low-interest emergency loans to help them recover from production and physical losses.

Compensation also is available to producers who purchased coverage through the Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program, which protects non-insurable crops against natural disasters that result in lower yields, crop losses or prevented planting.

The USDA encourages farmers and ranchers to contact their local FSA office to learn what documents can expedite assistance, such as farm records, receipts and pictures of damages or losses.

Producers with coverage through the RMA administered federal crop insurance program should contact their crop insurance agent. Those who purchased crop insurance will be paid for covered losses. Producers should report crop damage within 72 hours of damage discovery and follow up in writing within 15 days.  

—Compiled from USDA press release