Ag Producers of Hillsborough and Polk Counties Hurricane Relief Information

 Ag Producers -- Please see the relevant resources that may be available to assist with hurricane damage and recovery.

Report farm damages or crop/livestock losses to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) – Farm Service Agency (FSA), even if you are not currently enrolled in an FSA program. Information reported to the USDA FSA is used to determine eligibility for agricultural disaster declarations.

FSA  SERVICE CENTER OFFICE HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY FARM SERVICE AGENCY 201 S COLLINS ST STE 201 PLANT CITY, FL 33563 (800) 243-9912 (813) 752-1474 ext 2 (855) 563-2113 Fax Mailing Address: 201 S COLLINS ST,SUITE 201 PLANT CITY, FL 33563-5567

FSA  SERVICE CENTER OFFICE POLK COUNTY FARM SERVICE AGENCY 1700 HWY 17 S BARTOW, FL 33830 (800) 243-9912 (863) 533-2051 ext 2 (855) 475-8047 Fax Mailing Address: 1700 HWY 17 S STE 1 BARTOW, FL 33830-6630 Marcinda Kester County Executive Director (863) 533-2051 (855) 475-8047 fax marcinda.kester@usda.gov BRONWYN D BETHEA-ROWLAND Farm Loan Manager (813) 752-1474 x 2 bronwyn.bethearowland@usda.gov

Hillsborough County Damage Assessment - Hillsborough County property owners can use the form to report property loss or storm damages to the County by visiting HCFL.gov/DamageAssessment.

UF/IFAS Disaster Assessment Survey. This survey is used to estimate the state- and later county-level production losses for agricultural operations in Florida and results are communicated to state and federal agencies to inform their decision-making processes. Please report for the appropriate Hurricane

Hurricane Helene - go.ufl.edu/heleneagimpacts

Hurricane Milton - http://go.ufl.edu/MiltonAgImpacts

Use this USDA Tool to determine which program might apply to you Disaster Assistance Discovery Tool | Farmers.gov

Investigate agricultural disaster assistance programs that might be available through agencies such as:

•      USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA)

Farm Service Agency Emergency Loans Available – Click Here

•      USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS)

•      USDA Risk Management Agency (RMA)

•      Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS)

Emergency Livestock Assistance - To request critical assistance for your livestock and animals in urgent need, please access and complete the form then send to DAIOPSAssessment@FDACS.gov or call 863-993-5460 Form Link - https://forms.fdacs.gov/09027.pdf

FDACS Natural Disaster Recovery Loan Program - Florida farmers, ranchers, and growers impacted by Hurricane Helene can now apply for interest-free loans through the Agriculture and Aquaculture Producers Natural Disaster Recovery Loan Program.

    Florida Small Business Emergency Bridge Loan Program - Provides short-term, zero-interest working capital loans that are intended to “bridge the gap” between the time a disaster impacts a business and when a business has secured longer term recovery funding https://floridacommerce.my.site.com/RebuildFloridaBusinessLoanFund/s/

For more resources of Disaster Preparation, Response and Recovery, visit the following sources:

•      UF/IFAS Disaster Preparation & Recovery

•      Florida Extension Disaster Education Network

•      Florida Farm Bureau Helene Resources

•      Farm Bureau Hurricane Disaster Relief Fund - https://floridafarmbureau.org/hurricane-relief-fund-for- agriculture/

USDA FSA Ag Producer Damage Assesments

 

Producers,  

USDA Farm Service Agency offers a variety of programs to help farmers and ranchers that have been hard hit by natural disaster events. 

In order for the assistance to be available to producers, FSA must gather information to assess the agricultural damage due to Hurricane Milton. Please see the instructions below to report this information to the Plant City Service Center - Farm Service Agency Office.

*This preliminary information will be used by FSA to determine the amount of loss to each crop and determine the need for disaster assistance programs. Once the applications are open, FSA will contact those who have submitted an email to notify that they can apply.

 How to report agricultural damages to FSA:

Send an email to Marcinda Kester at Marcinda.Kester@usda.gov and Diana Williams Diana.K.Williams@usda.gov and cc your Extension agent Shawn Steed ststeed@ufl.edu with the following information:

 

1. Name of operation:

 

2. County operating in:   

 

3. Contact email:

 

4. Contact phone number:

 

5. Contact person:

 

6. Type of operation:

 

7. Describe damage and/or losses (Be specific. Include pictures and information such as the number of acres damaged, value of structures/equipment damaged, type of crop damaged, number of livestock loss or injured, amount of fence damage, amount of feed/hay lost, amount of fertilizer/supplies lost, etc):

UF/IFAS Hurricane Helene Agriculture Damage Assesment

 Dear Nursery and Sod Producers,

UF/IFAS is seeking impacts incurred by Hurricane Helene.  There is an online survey tool that will collect your input.  Please take the time to record your responses even if you had no damage.  That will go a long way to getting the true impact of this storm on the agricultural community of Florida.  We appreciate your time and responses.  Here is a link to the survey   https://go.ufl.edu/heleneagimpacts

Hurricane Loan Help for Florida Farmers

If you are a Florida farmer there may be assistance available to you in the form of a loan from the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) which offers the Agriculture and Aquaculture Producers Natural Disaster Recovery Loan Program to support farmers and aquaculture producers affected by natural disasters. This program provides low-interest or interest-free loans to help restore, repair, or replace essential physical property, such as fences, equipment, and buildings, or to remove vegetative debris from the property.

Eligible applicants must own a bona fide farm operation on land classified as agricultural or lease sovereign submerged land. The farm or aquaculture facility must be located in a qualifying county affected by a declared disaster, such as Hurricane Helene. Applicants must be at least 18 years old and cannot have accepted financial assistance from other state or federal disaster relief programs. 

The maximum loan amount is $500,000, with a term of up to 10 years. Applicants can receive no more than one loan per application period and a maximum of five loans within any three-year period. Structures built with loan funds must comply with storm-hardening standards.

Here is a link to the FDACS site to see if you qualify and/or need more information. Agriculture and Aquaculture Producers Natural Disaster Recovery Loan Program / Agriculture Industry / Home - Florida Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services (fdacs.gov)