Assistance available to Nevada producers

Flooding has caused severe damage in areas of Carson City, Douglas, Elko, Eureka, Humboldt, Lander, Lyon, Washoe, and Mono (Calif.) counties. Farms and ranches suffering severe damage may be eligible for assistance under the Emergency Conservation Program (ECP) administered by the Farm Service Agency (FSA) County Offices.

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

is unusual and is not the type that would recur frequently in the same area

affect the productive capacity of the farmland

impair or endanger the land

A producer qualifying for ECP assistance may receive cost-share levels not to exceed 75 percent of the eligible cost of restoration measures. No producer is eligible for more than

$200,000 cost sharing per natural disaster occurrence. The following types of measures may be eligible:

removing debris from farmland

grading, shaping, or re-leveling severely damaged farmland

restoring permanent fences

restoring conservation structures and other similar installations

Producers who have suffered a loss from a natural disaster may contact the local FSA County

Office and request assistance from March 27 to May 26, 2017.

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

the local FSA County Committee (COC) or its representative has conducted an onsite inspection of the damaged area

the Agency responsible for technical assistance, such as the Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS), has made a needs determination, which may include cubic yards of earthmoving, etc., required for rehabilitation

For more information on ECP, contact the local county office or visit FSA online at http://www.fsa.usda.gov/nv.