Producers Encouraged To Report Cold Weather Damage

The Farm Service Agency is encouraging producers to report any cold weather losses as soon as possible.  The recent cold overnight temperatures have resulted in growers across the Inland Northwest dealing with ice on fruit trees, grape vines as well as a host of other weather problems.  The FSA is encouraging all growers not to wait, and to report all losses due to extreme cold to their local office as well as their insurance agents.

Franklin County Executive Director Bruce Clatterbuck said FSA is the primary USDA agency in the field responsible for acquiring data and reporting disasters that affect the county to potentially bring about disaster designations.  He added timely notices are critical when it comes to FSA disaster programs.  The Secretary of Agriculture is authorized to designate counties as disaster areas to make emergency loans available to producers suffering losses in those counties. In addition to emergency loan eligibility, other emergency assistance programs, such as FSA disaster assistance programs, have historically used disaster designations as an eligibility trigger.

“Timely notices of loss are critical in FSA’s disaster programs;” Clatterbuck emphasized, “producers need to report crop losses within 15 days of the disaster event, or when the loss is first apparent, while livestock losses need to be reported within 30 days.” Producers may report the following information to the local FSA office: crops affected, insured crops, number of acres damaged or left unharvested, percentage of the loss, cause of loss and date the loss occurred.

Click Here to find your local FSA office in Washington.

Click Here to find your local FSA office in Oregon.

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