Producers May be Eligible for Emergency Conservation Program Assistance

Severe storms and flooding which occurred in June caused severe damage in areas of Braxton, Clay, Nicholas and Webster counties.
Farms suffering severe damage may be eligible for assistance under the Emergency Conservation Program (ECP) administered by the Braxton-Clay-Nicholas-Webster Counties Farm Service Agency (FSA).
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 releveling 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. The signup deadline is September 29, 2016.
For more information about ECP, contact the Braxton-Clay-Nicholas-Webster Counties FSA Office at 304-364-5103 or go to www.fsa.usda.gov/sc.