March 25th 2019 Washington DC
USDA leaders will be in the Midwest this week surveying flooding damage in multiple states. RFD-TV’s Sarah Mock checks in with the federal response to impacted ag communities.
Ag department officials say they’re are in regular contact with local and regional offices, preparing for what could be a lengthy recovery.
“We don’t know how bad it’s going to get yet. In many cases the waters have not started to come down. […] those offices are open, they’re talking to us about what they’re seeing. We’re making sure there’s resources available for the programs that will likely be needed.”
Though some local offices may be closed due to flooding, the majority will remain open, USDA says, and will offer relief services, though many are not available until the damage has been surveyed. northey advises farmers to record what they can.
“As they’re able to gather the number of loses, that’s helpful. We have some programs that cover feed loses. So count those hay bales that have been destroyed, understand how much is in your silage pile so that you’re able to account for that when those numbers are required on an application later.”
WHether dealing with lost feed, equipment, livestock or structures, Northey encourages operators to reach out to county USDA office for resources and for those still in the surge path, the department is offering flexibility to help prepare.
“As we talk to folks further down, they are actively doing that, they’re not calling our office they’re just moving stuff, and certainly if they have corn under loan and need authority to move stuff we’re allowing that to happen.”
Northey and other USDA officials are planning to visit flood affected areas this week, carrying an important message to farmers still reeling from the devastation.
“USDA cares, we have a service center right there with your friends and neighbors that can help you navigate through the different possibilities of us being able to help. We know these folks are going through not only financial stress but an emotional stress that’s almost unbelievable. We want them to know that we care and we’re going to be there to help to the extent that we can.”
Officials caution that despite the many programs usda has to assist farmers, none of them are meant to make farmers whole. and though there are efforts being made at the army corp of engineers to prepare communities downstream, he says it’s unlikely we’ve seen the end of the floods impact. For RFD-TV, I’m Sarah Mock in Washington.
For more information about how to prepare, recover and build long term resilience against disasters in your community, visit u-s-d-a dot gov slash disaster.
With
Undersecretary Northey
Sarah Mock
Washington Correspondent
@sarah_k_mock
