By Jamie Martin
With hurricane season set to begin on June 1 and continue through November 30, the USDA is urging farmers, ranchers, and forest landowners to take proactive steps to prepare for potential storms. Past hurricane seasons have caused significant damage, and early preparation can help reduce losses and ensure a quicker recovery.
Steps for Preparedness
Producers are encouraged to develop a comprehensive emergency plan. This includes identifying meeting locations, creating emergency contact lists, and outlining alternate evacuation routes.
It’s also important to remove or secure large equipment and loose objects that could become dangerous in high winds or flooding. Cleaning out ditches, culverts, and other drainage areas helps minimize flood risk.
Farmers should take the time to document all farm assets-structures, vehicles, equipment, and livestock. Keeping photos, videos, or detailed written inventories is essential. These records support insurance claims and applications for disaster assistance and should be stored in multiple secure locations, including cloud-based storage.
Another critical step is reviewing insurance coverage with an agent. Ensure your policies are up-to-date and provide adequate protection, including flood coverage. It’s important to remember that new policies may have a waiting period before coverage begins.
Essential supplies like drinking water, non-perishable food, flashlights, batteries, generators, fuel, and cash should be gathered in advance.
The USDA also recommends downloading the FEMA app for real-time emergency updates and disaster preparedness tips.
USDA Support After Disasters
In the event of a hurricane, USDA agencies such as the Farm Service Agency (FSA), Risk Management Agency (RMA), and Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) offer a range of support programs.
If you have Federal Crop Insurance, report damage within 72 hours and confirm in writing within 15 days. For those with HIP-WI or Tropical Storm Option coverage, payments are typically issued shortly after a qualifying storm.
Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP) participants should report losses within 15 days or within 72 hours for hand-harvested crops.
FSA provides emergency loans and disaster relief programs for crop and infrastructure damage. NRCS assists with recovery through programs like EQIP and the Emergency Watershed Protection Program, which supports immediate recovery efforts and long-term conservation.
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Categories: National