NFU Blog

NFU believes that enacting a permanent disaster assistance program is one of the most important pieces of the farm bill. As we can all see by Mother Nature’s devastating effect across the country just in recent weeks – the west coast is on fire while the southeast is drying up – farmers and ranchers would greatly benefit from a permanent program. With the political and economic climate today, ad hoc programs are just not going to cut it.

The current structure of providing disaster assistance on an ad hoc basis often leaves producers waiting for years for relief. Since 1998, Congress has approved 23 ad hoc disaster assistance bills and with each bill, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has to develop and implement a different program.

A permanent disaster program was approved in the Senate Ag Committee bill passed last week, but as the farm bill heads to the Senate floor, many have indicated they will oppose this vital program. It is important to contact your Senators and tell them to support this legislation as the bill goes to the floor the week of Nov. 5. Visit NFU’s Take Action! page to call or email your Senators today.

NFU is urging all producers to take action and contact their representatives in the U.S. House and urge their support for agricultural disaster assistance.

Click here to contact your representatives.

The House Appropriations committee yesterday announced a vote on emergency domestic supplemental funding, including agricultural disaster assistance, would occur this Friday, May 11. The package includes $3.5 billion in disaster assistance and a one month extension of the Milk Income Loss Contract (MILC) program, among other provisions.

The disaster funding would assist producers who suffered crop and livestock losses from weather-related disasters during fiscal years 2005, 2006, and 2007. Eligible producers must select one year from which to receive the funding. Eligibility would be based on whether producers carried crop insurance during the selected year. The package provides assistance for farmers who lost 35 percent or more of their crop in one of the covered years and for livestock producers in counties that received a Secretarial or Agriculture Department disaster designation during the covered time.

Virtually every state across the country has suffered from significant weather related losses either in 2005, 2006 or 2007. Losses are a result of devastating hurricanes, fires, floods, frost/early-freezing, blizzards, severe drought and more.