USDA offering disaster assistance to agricultural producers in Oregon impacted by wildfires
By Garrett Christensen on Friday, August 16th, 2024 in Columbia Basin News Eastern/Southeast Oregon News More Top Stories Northeastern Oregon News
EASTERN OREGON – (Release from the U.S. Department of Agriculture) Agricultural operations in Eastern Oregon have been significantly impacted by recent wildfires. The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service in Oregon has technical and financial assistance available to help farmers and livestock producers recover from these wildfire events. Impacted producers should contact their local USDA Service Center to learn more about program options available to assist in their recovery from wildfire losses and damages.
New Funding Sign-Up Announced
USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is always available to provide technical assistance during the recovery process by assisting producers to plan and implement conservation practices on farms and working forests impacted by natural disasters. The Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) can help producers plan and implement conservation practices on land impacted by recent wildfires.
A total of $2 million of FY24 funds have newly been made available to support producers in wildfire recovery. Producers in the following counties may be eligible to apply: Baker, Crook, Gilliam, Grant, Harney, Lake, Malheur, Morrow, Umatilla, and Wheeler.
The Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) can help producers plan and implement conservation practices on land impacted by natural disasters. Eligible land includes rangeland, and non-industrial private forestland. Practices can include:
- Minimizing noxious and invasive plant proliferation
- Protecting water quality
- Grazing deferment for degraded plant recovery
- Range plantings to mitigate soil erosion
If you are an agricultural producer affected by a disaster, please contact your local NRCS office.
“The Natural Resources Conservation Service can be a very valuable partner to help landowners with their recovery by utilizing conservation measures to recover from wildfires and minimize the severity of future fire events,” said Greg Becker, NRCS State Conservationist in Oregon. “Our staff will work one-on-one with landowners to make assessments of the damages and develop approaches that focus on effective recovery and conservation of the land.”
ACT NOW
NRCS will be utilizing ACT NOW to process conservation applications in this emergency wildfire recovery ranking pool to deliver a conservation product faster. ACT NOW allows NRCS to immediately approve and obligate a ranked application in the designated ranking pool when an eligible application meets or exceeds a State-determined minimum ranking score of 140 points. Applications will be accepted and funded until available funds are expended.
How to Apply
NRCS will accept applications for this wildfire recovery funding period from August 16 through September 9, 2024. Applications for conservation programs in other funding pools – including EQIP and CSP – are accepted year-round, however producers and landowners should apply by state-specific, signup dates to be considered for each year’s funding. To apply, producers should contact their local USDA Service Center.
More Information
To learn more about NRCS programs, producers can contact their local USDA Service Center. Producers can also apply for NRCS programs, manage conservation plans and contracts, and view and print conservation maps by logging into their farmers.gov account. If you don’t have an account, sign up today.
Additional USDA disaster assistance information can be found on farmers.gov, including USDA resources specifically for producers impacted by heavy rain and flooding. Those resources include the Disaster Assistance Discovery Tool, Disaster-at-a-Glance fact sheet and Loan Assistance Tool. Additionally, FarmRaise offers an FSA educational hub with LIP and ELAP decision tools as well as farm loan resource videos. For FSA and NRCS programs, producers should contact their local USDA Service Center. For assistance with a crop insurance claim, producers and landowners should contact their crop insurance agent.
USDA touches the lives of all Americans each day in so many positive ways. Under the Biden-Harris administration, USDA is transforming America’s food system with a greater focus on more resilient local and regional food production, fairer markets for all producers, ensuring access to safe, healthy and nutritious food in all communities, building new markets and streams of income for farmers and producers using climate smart food and forestry practices, making historic investments in infrastructure and clean energy capabilities in rural America, and committing to equity across the Department by removing systemic barriers and building a workforce more representative of America. To learn more, visit usda.gov.
