WASHINGTON, Nov. 24, 2014 – Almost 2,500 applicants will
receive disaster assistance aid through the USDA’s Emergency Assistance for
Livestock, Honeybees, and Farm-Raised Fish Program (ELAP), according
to the USDA.
The
aid will cover losses suffered from Oct. 1, 2011, through Sept. 30, 2013, USDA
said Monday in a news release. ELAP, reauthorized in the
2014 Farm Bill, provides disaster relief to producers mentioned in the
program’s title not covered by other programs.
Eligible losses may include
excessive heat or winds, flooding, blizzards, hail, wildfires, lightning
strikes, volcanic eruptions, and diseases, or in the case of honeybees, losses
due to colony collapse disorder. Beekeepers, most of whom suffered honeybee
colony losses, represent more than half of ELAP recipients.
"As promised, we're making sure
that thousands of producers who suffered through two and a half difficult years
without Farm Bill assistance, are getting some relief," Agriculture
Secretary Tom Vilsack said in the release. "Once the Farm Bill was
restored, not only did we implement the disaster assistance programs in record
time, we're issuing payments less than three months after the enrollment
deadline. The funds will hopefully help producers with some of the financial
losses they sustained during that time."
The Farm Bill caps ELAP disaster
funding at $20 million per federal fiscal year. To accommodate the number of
requests, which exceeded funds available for each of the affected years,
payments will be reduced to ensure that all eligible applicants receive a
prorated share of assistance, USDA said.
In addition to providing disaster relief
ranchers and farmers, USDA cited numerous other areas in which it has made
“significant progress” in implement Farm Bill provisions. They include strengthening
risk management tools; expanding access to rural credit; funding critical
research; establishing innovative public-private conservation partnerships;
developing new markets for rural-made products; and investing in
infrastructure, housing and community facilities.
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