Many Mississippi farmers have suffered significant damage to their crops from early-June flooding and are seeking guidance on recovery.
Mississippi State University has prepared this information outlining the steps a farmer should take, which was provided to the office of Rep. Karl Oliver (R-District 46):
If you have damage reach out to FSA and MSU Extension in your county to report damage, and your insurance provider. MSU Extension captures this information in order to provide the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency and U.S. Department of Agriculture Farm Service Agency with a county-by-county statewide accounting of agricultural loss and impairment.
MSU Extension county agents serve on their county’s Agriculture Emergency Board, which is chaired by the FSA county director. At the state level, a variety of agriculture agency and emergency agency heads contribute damage numbers to ensure all damage is accounted for statewide. The MSU Extension director serves on this board when an emergency meeting is held by USDA FSA. When a Stafford Act Disaster Declaration is requested by the state of Mississippi the total economic impacts are included in the overall impact statement, which would be submitted to FEMA. These impacts help to establish the economic hardship that the impacted areas face, and this hardship is factored into the procedure of the federal disaster declaration process.
Once a Stafford Act declaration has been approved by the president, USDA FSA can release funds if available to farmers through their disaster assistance programs. If the presidential declaration is not qualified then the damage assessment aids efforts to earn USDA secretarial declarations, which opens opportunities for USDA emergency loans, grants and Small Business Administration low-interest loans.
MSU Extension damage assessment information needs:
• Name, address, phone number FSA
• Farm ID number
• Crop Losses: type of crop, total acreage, damaged acreage, expected yield, expected loss and booking price
• Damaged/ Impaired Structures, Facilities loss (size) Equipment Loss
• Stored Materials Loss
• Pictures of damage if available.
