The Woodward News

Local News

August 23, 2012

Assistance available for producers

Gary Engel Woodward News

Woodward, Okla. — Applications are now being taken to participate in 2 Farm Service Agency (FSA) help programs. One is for disaster-related assistance and the other pertains to emergency livestock water aid.



NAP PROVIDES HELP

The deadline is Aug. 31 for producers to obtain coverage through the USDA's Noninsurable Crop Disaster Assistance Program, known as NAP.

Woodward County FSA Executive Director Bowdy Peach said the deadline date is for crops that will be harvested as forage and for cool-season perennial or mixed grasses intended for grazing.

The crops include alfalfa, canola and small grains (wheat, rye, barley, oats) used for grazing.

Deadline to purchase NAP coverage for warm-season grasses and spring/summer crops is March 15, 2013.

Application and a service fee must be submitted by Aug. 31, Peach said.



WATER AID AVAILABLE, TOO

Peach said the FSA has assistance under terms of the Emergency Conservation Program (ECP)for farms and ranches suffering from a water shortage for livestock due to the ongoing drought.  

Through ECP, funds may be available to assist Woodward County producers in restoring, or developing, livestock watering facilities.

"I encourage everyone who had wells, creeks, ponds or other watering facilities that have gone dry to come by our office and learn more about ECP before starting repairs," Peach said.

To be eligible for ECP, he said the drought must have created new conservation problems on the affected land, which affect the land's productive capability.  

In addition these conservation problems must meet the following criteria:

- Represent unusual damage not likely to recur frequently in the same area.

- Have costs so expensive to repair that federal assistance is, or will be, required to return the land to productive agricultural use.

Untreated damage that happened prior to the drought isn't eligible to participate, Peach said.

"A qualified producer may receive a cost-share that doesn't exceed 50 percent of the eligible costs of restoration," he said.

Additionally, Peach said it's very important to note that farmers and ranchers shouldn't start making repairs until the application is on file, and until a member or representative of the FSA County Committee has made an on-site inspection of the damage.

"The County Committee has set the deadline to apply (for ECP) as Sept. 21," he said.



VISIT FSA OFFICE TO LEARN MORE

There are several other FSA programs to help producers recover from natural disasters, like the Emergency Loan Program, Federal Crop Insurance and the aforementioned NAP, Peach said.

"Come by to visit, or call us to get the details on all the programs, including NAP and ECP," he said. "Meet the deadlines by coming to the office to apply."

The Woodward County FSA office is located at 3300 Oklahoma Ave., Suite 800. Or call (580) 256-7882, Ext. 2, to talk to Peach.

More information on ECP and NAP is also available at www.fsa.usda.gov/ok.

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