Cleveland County Producers May be Eligible for Emergency Conservation Program Assistance. Confirmed tornados have caused severe damage in several areas of the County.
Farms and ranches suffering severe damage may be eligible for assistance under the Emergency Conservation Program (ECP) administered by the Cleveland County 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
• Restoring permanent fences
Producers who have suffered a loss from the tornados may contact the Cleveland County Office and request assistance from now through January 29th 2018.
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
For more information about ECP, please contact the Cleveland County FSA Office at 704-471-0235 ext. 2 or visit www.fsa.usda.gov.
To better serve your needs, please call and schedule an appointment if you wish to submit an ECP application.
Submitted by Byron McMurry