In the wake of Hurricane Helene and in anticipation of Hurricane Milton, US Department of Agriculture (USDA) staff are available to assist when you are ready. USDA offers a suite of programs to help your ag operation recover, and they are also offering program flexibilities to streamline the recovery process.

Here’s what you need to know about documenting and reporting losses, what programs USDA has available, how they are adding flexibilities, and how to work with the agency.

Documenting Losses  

Document damages and losses your operation has sustained as best you can, including gathering farm records, herd inventory, receipts, and pictures of damages or losses.

USDA advises livestock producers to document livestock numbers by taking time and date-stamped video or pictures of injury or loss, to the extent possible.

USDA recognizes these are extremely extenuating and stressful circumstances, and there may be instances where documentation is lost, destroyed, or unattainable. Regardless, please contact USDA and they will do whatever they can to help you access the assistance you need. 

Reporting Losses  

Report crop, livestock, and farm infrastructure losses to USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) at your local USDA Service Center.

If you have Federal Crop Insurance, contact your crop insurance agent as soon as crop or livestock losses are apparent. USDA’s Risk Management Agency (RMA) has authorized crop insurance companies to provide flexibility on reporting requirements for those who are unable to report losses due to the disaster. See RMA’s Hurricanes Helene and Debby webpage.

Available Programs   

FSA offers a number of disaster programs as well as low-interest emergency loans to help producers recover from production and physical losses. A full list of programs is available on our Hurricane webpage. FSA is providing flexibilities for its programs, including extended signup opportunities and use of waivers and emergency procedures to expedite program delivery. Find a list of flexibilities here.

The Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) provides technical and financial assistance to producers through its Environmental Quality Incentives Program to help with immediate needs and long-term support to help recover from natural disasters and conserve water resources. Assistance may also be available for restoring livestock infrastructure, emergency animal mortality disposal from natural disasters and other causes, immediate soil erosion protection, and other resource concerns. 

Additionally, NRCS offers help to communities through its Emergency Watershed Protection (EWP) Program which provides assistance to landowners and project sponsors following a natural disaster. EWP is designed to help people and conserve natural resources by relieving imminent hazards to life and property caused by floods, fires, windstorms, and other natural occurrences. Visit NRCS Disaster Recovery webpage.

Contact Us 

When you’re ready to report losses or ask questions about available programs, contact your local USDA Service Center.    

USDA has resources available through the FSA Call Center at 877-508-8364, the USDA hotline at 833-ONE-USDA (663-8732), or producers can access program information online on farmers.gov.

Online Resources and Tools  

Additional resources include:

• Hurricane webpage with more information for hurricane-impacted producers.
• Disaster Assistance at a Glance Brochure with an overview of all disaster assistance programs.
• Disaster Assistance Discovery Tool to help with available disaster assistance.
• Farm Loan Assistance Tool to help determine program or loan options.
• FarmRaise educational hub to help with program decisions.