DEADLINES
July 30 is the Soil Health & Incentive Protection Program (SHIPP) sign-up deadline.
August 2 is the last day to submit nominations for the 2021 County Committee Election.
August 2 is the first day to Hay CRP acres after getting written approval from FSA.
August 6 is the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) Continuous sign-up deadline.
August 20 is the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) Grassland sign-up deadline.
August 30 is the last day to submit an ECP application.
July 15 was the final day to report your certification acres. If you missed the deadline, please bring in your maps as soon as possible. If you need a copy, please call the office to arrange that. Remember, most of our programs are tied to certification. You don't want to miss out on any program benefits!!
USDA Offers Drought Impacted South Dakota
Farmers and Ranchers Immediate Disaster Assistance
USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) offers disaster assistance and low-interest loan programs to assist you in your recovery efforts following drought. Available programs and loans include:
• Non-Insured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP) - provides financial assistance to producers of non-insurable crops when low yields, loss of inventory, or prevented planting occur due to natural disasters including qualifying drought (includes native grass for grazing).
• Livestock Forage Disaster Program (LFP) – provides compensation to eligible livestock producers who suffered grazing losses for covered livestock due to drought on privately owned or cash leased land
• Livestock Indemnity Program (LIP) - offers payments to eligible producers for livestock death losses in excess of normal mortality due to adverse weather. Drought is not an eligible adverse weather event, except when associated with anthrax, a condition that occurs because of drought and directly results in the death of eligible livestock.
• Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees, and Farm-Raised Fish Program (ELAP) - provides emergency relief for losses due to feed or water shortages, disease, adverse weather, or other conditions, which are not adequately addressed by other disaster programs.
• Emergency Loan Program – available to producers with agriculture operations located in a county under a primary or contiguous Secretarial Disaster designation. These low interest loans help producers recover from production and physical losses.
• Emergency Conservation Program (ECP) - provides emergency funding for farmers and ranchers to rehabilitate land severely damaged by natural disasters and to implement emergency water conservation measures in periods of severe drought. This includes wells, pipeline, tanks, pumps, and solar panels, for both permanent and temporary practices.
Edmunds County is Accepting Emergency Conservation
Program Applications for pipelines, tanks, wells
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA) announced that Edmunds County is accepting applications for the Emergency Conservation Program (ECP) to address damages from drought. ECP signup will begin on July 1, 2021, and end on August 30, 2021.
The approved ECP practices under this authorization include temporary or permanent water pipelines and tanks, constructing and deepening wells, permanent submersible pumps for wells and solar panels to provide power to pump water for livestock.
ECP assists producers with the recovery cost to restore the farmland to pre-disaster conditions. Approved ECP applicants may receive up to 75 percent of the cost of approved restoration activity. Limited resource, socially disadvantaged, and beginning farmers and ranchers may receive up to 90 percent cost-share.
Dealing with natural disasters is never easy, especially when you have to consider the health and safety of livestock, but it’s important for producers to call the office before they take any action.
Producers with damage from such events must apply for assistance prior to beginning reconstructive work. FSA’s National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and environmental compliance review process is required to be completed before any actions are taken. Submitting an application after reconstructive work has been completed may not qualify for ECP.
FSA county committees will evaluate applications based on an on-site inspection of the damaged land, taking into consideration the type and extent of the damage. An on-site inspection does not guarantee that cost-share funding will be provided.
The 2018 Farm Bill increased the payment limitation for ECP to $500,000 per disaster. The use of ECP funds is limited to activities to return the land to the relative pre-disaster condition. Conservation concerns that were present on the land prior to the disaster are not eligible for ECP assistance.
For more information on ECP, please contact the Edmunds County FSA office at 605-426-6951, or visit farmers.gov/recover.
ELAP Covers Losses from Additional Cost
of Transporting Water to Livestock
If you’ve incurred additional operating costs for transporting water to livestock due to an eligible drought, assistance may be available to you through the Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees and Farm-Raised Fish Program (ELAP).
An eligible drought means that part or all of your county is designated D3 (extreme drought) or higher as indicated by the U.S. Drought Monitor.
Eligible livestock must be adult or non-adult dairy cattle, beef cattle, buffalo and beefalo, as well as alpacas, deer, elk, emus, equine, goats, llamas, reindeer, or sheep. Additionally, the livestock must have been owned 60 calendar days prior to the beginning of the drought and be physically located in the county designated as a disaster area due to drought. Adequate livestock watering systems or facilities must have existed before the drought occurred and producers are only eligible if they do not normally transport water to the livestock.
Livestock that were or would have been in a feedlot are not eligible for transporting water. ELAP covers the additional cost of transporting water and does not cover the cost of the water itself.
You must file a notice of loss on form CCC-851 the earlier of 30 calendar days of when the loss is apparent to you or by Jan. 31, 2022. Additionally, the deadline to submit an application for payment for 2020 ELAP assistance is Jan. 31, 2022.
You’ll have to provide documentation to FSA that shows the method used to transport the water, the number of gallons of water transported and the number of eligible livestock to which water was transported.
To make an appointment to sign up for ELAP and to learn more about eligibility, application and documentation requirements, contact your local County USDA Service Center or visit fsa.usda.gov.
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