Yesterday, United States Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue was in Iowa to survey damage from drought and the derecho storm and to talk to producers about conservation, aquaculture, and more. While at a luncheon put on by the Iowa Corn Growers Association, he brought some news for the state of Iowa. He used his authority at the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to declare 18 counties disaster areas.
Perdue said that he wanted to give Iowa a chance to clean up and assess the damage before he came. His declaration will activate provisions of the Farm Bill and programs under USDA to benefit these counties.
The designation enables producers who suffered losses from the August derecho to be eligible for emergency loans. Additionally, Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue reminded producers about the suite of disaster assistance programs available through USDA, including program flexibilities and special signup through the Environmental Quality Incentives Program.
L to R: Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds, Iowa Senator Joni Ernst, & USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue with the Secretary’s Disaster Declaration. (Photo by Dustin Hoffmann)
The natural disaster designations allow the Farm Service Agency to extend emergency credit to producers recovering from natural disasters. Emergency loans can be used to meet various recovery needs, including replacing essential items such as equipment or livestock, reorganization of a farming operation, or the refinancing of certain debts.
Meanwhile, to assistant other states impacted by the Derecho, the FSA has streamlined the environmental compliance review process for the Emergency Conservation Program, Emergency Forest Restoration Program, Emergency Loan Program, Farm Storage Facility Program, and Tree Assistance Program.
USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue in Radcliffe, Iowa. (Photo by Dustin Hoffmann)
Secretary Perdue says that while he has no control over Insurance Providers in the Federal Crop Insurance Program, he would like to see consistency in the decisions being made by adjusters.
The Secretary said that the declaration is worded in a way that leaves the door open for more assistance for more counties if it is deemed necessary.
