Agricultural Assistance Act 2007

Agricultural Assistance Act 2007

USDA Farm Service Agency

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The Agricultural Assistance Act of 2007 (2007 Act):

Part of the U.S. Troop Readiness, Veteran’s Care, Katrina Recovery, and Iraq Accountability Act, 2007

President Bush signed May 25, 2007

Provides about $3 billion in disaster aid

USDA implements the disaster programs and distributes funds

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Agricultural Assistance Act 2007The Act provides funding for:

Crop Disaster Program (CDP)

Livestock Compensation Program (LCP)

Livestock Indemnity Program (LIP)

Dairy Disaster Assistance Program (DDAP-III)

Emergency Conservation Program (ECP)

Emergency Forestry Conservation Reserve Program (EFCRP)

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FSA now administering programs:

Drafting regulations, eventually published in Federal Register;

Fact sheets and more about programs

Agency designs and develops software for sign-up and payment process

All information posted at www.fsa.usda.gov

http://www.fsa.usda.gov/

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Eligibility Requirements:

Farmers who suffered quantity and quality loss from natural disasters

Eligible crops from 2005 2006 Planted prior to February 28, 2007

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Producers may only receive benefits for one year

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Eligible producers are those:

Having crop insurance coverage for the insurable commodity suffering loss OR

Covered under the NAP for the noninsurable commodity suffering loss

Quantity losses must exceed 35%

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Payment rate = 42% of the established price

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Payment quantity for quality losses =

Lesser of:

Actual production of the crop affected by a quality loss

ORQuantity of expected production of the

crop affected by a quality loss

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Quality loss = at least 25% of affected production of crop

Assistance must not exceed 95% of crop value absent disaster

Maximum payment = $80,000

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Sign-up:

Producers will enroll at local FSA Service Center

USDA will announce and conduct sign-up

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LCP provides payments for feed losses.


Losses due to natural disasters between January 1, 2005, and February 28, 2007

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Must be in a primary (or contiguous) disaster county declared by the Secretary or President between January 1, 2005, and February 28, 2007

OR Must be in a primary (or contiguous) county that

received an Administrator’s Physical Loss Notice that is directly associated to a disaster declaration made by the President

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Eligible livestock include:

dairy cattle, beef cattle, buffalo, beefalo, equine, poultry, elk, reindeer, sheep, goats, swine or deer

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Payment:

Rate = 61% of the national payment rate (to be determined)


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Sign-up:

Producers will enroll at FSA Service Centers


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To provide assistance to eligible catfish producers under LCP:

FSA will provide grants to states

States will conduct sign-up and distribute funds to eligible producers

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LIP compensates producers for livestock losses.

Eligibility requirements:

Losses between January 1, 2005, and February 28, 2007

Losses from natural disasters, including blizzards that began in 2006 through 2007

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Must be in a primary (or contiguous) disaster county declared by the Secretary or President between January 1, 2005, and February 28, 2007

OR Must be in a primary (or contiguous) county that

received an Administrator’s Physical Loss Notice that is directly associated to a disaster declaration made by the President

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Eligible livestock include:

dairy cattle, beef cattle, buffalo, beefalo, catfish, crawfish, equine, sheep, goats, swine, poultry or deer

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Payment:

Rate = 26% of market value on day prior to death


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Sign-up:



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DDAP-III provides $16 million for dairy production losses.


Producers in counties declared primary or contiguous Secretarial or Presidential disaster areas between January 1, 2005, and February 28, 2007

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Eligibility Requirements cont’d:

Must be in a primary (or contiguous) county that received an Administrator’s Physical Loss Notice that is directly associated to a disaster declaration made by the President

Regulations will detail other program provisions

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Sign-up:

Dairy producers will enroll at local FSA Service Centers


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The 2007 Act provided $16 million for ECP.

Funding subject to Adjusted Gross Income Provisions

(ECP payments limited to $200,000 per “person” per disaster)

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ECP:

Provides funds and technical assistance

Rehabilitates farmland damaged by natural disasters

Implements water conservation efforts during drought

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Determined by FSA county committees

Based on onsite inspections

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Damage must create new problems that:

Impair/endanger the landAffect land’s productivityRepresent unusual damageBe so costly that federal aid is required

to return land to productivity

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Sign-up:


Local FSA county office will conduct ECP sign-up

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The 2007 Act extended EFCRP into2007.

EFCRP helps landowners restore damaged forestland through various measures.

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Forestland damaged by 2005 hurricanes

Fact sheet offers more information

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Maximum payment = $50,000 per person per year

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Sign-up:

Producers can enroll in EFCRP at FSA Service Centers

Sign-up began August 6, 2007

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Conclusion

For more information on FSA programs, visit:

www.fsa.usda.gov or

your local FSA Service Center

http://www.fsa.usda.gov/


USDA Farm Service Agency

Documents

Agricultural Assistance Act 2007