Financial help for farmers and ranchers during drought

County Executive Director Melissa Michael of the Farm Service Agency has announced that a livestock watering assistance program is now available due to the severe drought designation for Lincoln County. “Ranchers suffering from drought and in need of water for their livestock operation may receive financial assistance from the Farm Service Agency,” said Michael. The agency is implementing its Emergency Conservation Program for drought in Lincoln County. The program helps farmers and ranchers to repair damage to farmlands caused by natural disasters and put in place methods for water conservation during severe drought.

“This is an opportunity to alleviate some of the drought pressure for ranchers in our county; especially those that have had wells and springs dry up that are normally more than adequate to sustain the livestock. We are working to ensure the ranchers in our county have the ability to maintain their herds in the midst of the second severe drought year in a row,” said Michael.

Cost-share funds are available to improve or enhance spring developments or wells and/or to develop new springs or wells, provided all necessary permits are obtained. The program provides 75 percent cost-share of the practice.

For land to qualify for funds, the drought must have significantly affected the land’s productive capacity and the improvement must be too costly to do without Federal assistance. The Agency’s Lincoln County Committee may approve applications up to $50,000 while anything greater requires State Committee or national office approval.

The agency is accepting program applications August 5 through September 4, 2015 at the Lincoln County USDA Service Center in Davenport.

Ranchers have until September 4 to apply for financial assistance to provide water to livestock; watering facilities must be necessary due to normal watering options in a field/area going dry due to the drought conditions.

Financial drought relief from the federal government is also forthcoming after the U.S. Drought Monitor reached D3, or a severe drought, for at least one week.

“The extent of the drought has been obvious through the very poor conditions of pasture and forage throughout the area, and now the drought monitor reflects that. This program is meant to alleviate some of those pressures felt by ranchers due to lack of feed,” said Michael.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farm Service Agency will make Livestock Forage Program payments to eligible ranchers in Lincoln County after severe drought coincided with the normal grazing season. The payment can be as high as $122.37 for an adult cow,” explained Michael. “This is in addition to the emergency loans we have available for agricultural producers in this and adjacent counties because of a Disaster Designation due to drought.”

For drought, forage program payments are equal to 60 percent of the monthly feed cost. Program payments help offset higher costs of purchasing feed or forage. Currently, ranchers in Lincoln County are eligible for three months of financial assistance. “This could increase if the drought continues,” said Michael. Applications are due to the Farm Service Agency by January 31, 2016.

Emergency loans are also available in Lincoln County and contiguous counties. The loans are low interest, currently 3.625% percent, with payment terms of up to 40 years. They may be used to restore or replace essential property, pay all or part of production costs associated with the disaster year, pay essential family living expenses, reorganize a farming operation or refinance certain debts.

Farmers in eligible counties have eight months from the date of the designation to apply for emergency loans to help cover part of their actual losses. The Agency will consider each loan application on its own merits, taking into account the extent of losses, security available and repayment ability. FSA has a variety of programs, in addition to the Emergency Loan program, to help eligible farmers recover from adversity.

USDA offers additional programs to help farmers and ranchers recover from damages caused by natural disasters. These programs include the Emergency Loan Program, Federal Crop Insurance and the Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program. More information on the emergency program and other disaster assistance programs is available at the local Farm Service Agency office (509) 725-4501 and online at: http://www.fsa.usda.gov/wa. Additional programs that may be available to assist farmers and ranchers include the Emergency Conservation Program, the Livestock Indemnity Program, the Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees, and Farm-Raised Fish Program, and the Tree Assistance Program. Interested farmers may contact their local USDA Farm Service Agency office for further information on eligibility requirements and application procedures for these and other programs. Additional information is available online at http://disaster.fsa.usda.gov