USDA Supporting Iowa Farmers After Severe December Weather

Remember last month's derecho?

The tornadoes and severe storms that happened last month significantly impacted many of Iowa’s agricultural operations.

According to KSRG, the National Weather Service offices identified a total of 43 tornadoes from the December 15^th derecho, a daily record number of outbreaks in the modern era.

The majority of the tornadoes from the storm took place in western and central counties. However, seven took place in parts of Howard, Floyd, Franklin, and Chickasaw counties.

To help those affected farmers, the USDA is offering financial assistance for recovery.

In a release from the USDA Robert Bonnie, Under Secretary for Farm Production and Conservation (FPAC) said

Production agriculture is vital to Iowa’s economy, and USDA stands ready to assist in the recovery from tornadoes and severe weather. USDA employees are working diligently to deliver USDA’s extensive portfolio of disaster assistance programs and services to all impacted agricultural producers.

USDA Disaster Assistance Programs

When disasters happen, it’s important to be diligent with reporting them. Matt Russell, state executive director for the Farm Service Agency in Iowa said

It is imperative that producers reach out to their local FSA office to report all crop, livestock and farm infrastructure damages and losses as soon as possible. To expedite FSA disaster assistance, you will likely need to provide documents, such as farm records, livestock inventory, receipts and pictures of damages or losses.

Programs that are available for disaster assistance cover livestock, livestock feed, trees,  and crops.

The USDA also offers programs focusing on risk and conservation.