USDA says disaster assistance will be prompt

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USDA says disaster assistance will be prompt

The acting administrator of the Farm Service Agency says producers who have suffered losses from the recent winter storms could see assistance in as little as a week after program enrollment.

“If you are suffering from losses, don’t hesitate to contact our local offices.”

Steve Peterson tells Brownfield standing disaster programs at USDA are available to help producers during times of catastrophic weather like the winter storms over the past week.

“In some of our areas, they’re not prone to this type of snowfall, ice storms, so people are pretty much paralyzed,” he says.

He says assistance can help with a large range of areas from maimed animals to even snow removal.

“If you need to try to make a path out so that you can get feed to the pasture or what have you, ultimately there could be costs incurred with that,” he says.

Peterson expects to see a large demand for livestock programs following record cold temperatures across many parts of the Midwest that are in the middle of calving season and widespread feed losses from the February storms.

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