Ag producer flood assistance available

Press release

Hill County producers may be eligible for assistance because of the 2018 spring flood in Hill County. Farms and ranches suffering severe damage may be eligible for assistance under the Emergency Conservation Program administered by the Hill County Farm Service Agency.

For land to be eligible, the natural disaster must create new conservation problems that, if untreated, would be so costly to rehabilitate that federal assistance is or will be needed to return the land to productive agricultural use. The damage is unusual and is not the type that would recur frequently in the same area. Flood damage affected the productive capacity of the farmland. Effects from the spring flood impaired or endangered the land.

The following types of measures may be eligible: Removing debris from farmland. Grading, shaping, or releveling severely damaged farmland. Restoring permanent fences. Restoring conservation structures and other similar installations.

To be eligible for assistance, practices must not be started until all of the following are met. An application for cost-share assistance has been filed at the office. A USDA employee will need to perform an onsite inspection of the damaged area and an environmental assessment conducted. The agency responsible for the technical assistance, such as the Natural Resource Conservation Service, has made a needs determination, which may include length of damaged fence, cubic yards of earthmoving, etc., required for rehabilitation.

Producers who have suffered a loss from a natural disaster may contact the local FSA County Office and request assistance from Sept. 6 to Oct. 5.

For more information about ECP, please contact the Hill County FSA Office at 1-406-265-6792 or visit http://www.fsa.usda.gov/mt/.

USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer and lender. To file a complaint of discrimination, write: USDA, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, Office of Adjudication, 1400 Independence Ave., SW, Washington, DC 20250-9410 or call (866) 632-9992 (Toll-free Customer Service), (800) 877-8339 (Local or Federal relay), (866) 377-8642 (Relay voice users).