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TWPA applauds passage of Agricultural Disaster Assistance LegiTexas After nearly two years of work, the Texas wheat Producers Association is pleased to report that Congress has passed an agricultural disaster assistance package of $3 billion. The legislation will provide needed relief to farmers and ranchers who experienced serious losses due to drought, floods, fires or freezes in recent crop growing seasons. "The TWPA leadership and staff have dedicated countless hours to making disaster assistance a reality for our wheat farmers," said Jack Norman, TWPA president and wheat producer from Howe, Texas. "We applaud our Texas Congressmen for standing firm on this issue, despite a threatened veto and other roadblocks. It has been a tough fight, but our efforts have paid off." The legislation will provide crop production loss assistance for farmers who lost 35 percent or more of their crop in 2005, 2006 or 2007. Producers can apply for disaster payments for only one of the three years, and the 2007 losses will only be covered for crops planted prior to February 28. The legislation also provides disaster assistance to livestock producers in counties that experienced USDA-designated natural disasters during the same three-year period. Only producers with crop insurance coverage or who signed up for the Non-insured Assistance Program will be eligible for assistance. Payments are to be made within 60 days of a producer's application. Texas farmers faced unforgiving conditions over the course of 2005 and 2006. Staggering increases in fuel and fertilizer costs cut deeply into margins in 2005, and in July 2006, Texas producers completed their smallest wheat harvest since 1971. The statewide crop totaled a mere 33.6 million bushels, which was down 65 percent from 2005. In addition, the harvested acres, finalized at 1.4 million acres, were the lowest number of acres harvested since 1925. Agricultural Disaster Assistance Details Crop Disaster Assistance --Eligibility: Producers on a farm shall not be eligible for assistance on any commodity that was not appropriately insured through crop insurance (insurable crops) or insured through the Non-insured Assistance Program with the Farm Service Agency. --A producer with qualifying crop losses in 2005, 2006, and crops planted prior to February 28, 2007, may only elect to receive assistance for one crop year. --On production losses exceeding 35 percent of the higher of the producer's APH or the county average yield, payments will be issued at 42 percent of the APH crop insurance price (insured crops) or 42 percent of the NAP price for non-insurable crops. --A producer may not receive more than 95 percent of what he/she would have received for the crop in the absence of the losses, as estimated by the Secretary. --In previous disaster programs, the Secretary has estimated the value in absence of loss to be the higher of the NASS Seasonal Average Price or crop insurance APH price multiplied by the higher of the producer's APH or the 5-year Olympic average county yield. --For quality losses, a producer is eligible for 65 percent of the payment quantity at 42 percent of the payment rate for quality losses when losses due to quality exceed 25 percent of the crop value if the crop had not suffered a quality loss. --Payment Quantity: The lesser of the actual production affected OR the quantity of expected production affected by a quality loss on a farm as estimated by the Secretary. --Payment Rate: The difference between the per unit market value for a crop unaffected by quality and the per unit market value for a crop affected by quality loss. --To arrive at crop value, FSA will develop quality adjustment and discount factors based on average local discounts actually applied to the crop. Livestock Assistance Compensation Program --Eligibility: Producers that conduct a livestock operation located in a disaster county with eligible livestock. --Disaster county: All counties receiving a Presidential or Secretarial natural disaster declaration between January 1, 2005, and February 28, 2007, including counties contiguous to disaster counties. --Payment rates per head are equal to 61 percent of the national payment rate. --A national payment rate for each type of livestock is the Commodity Credit Corporation's estimate of the cost of the amount of corn needed to maintain the specific livestock type for 30 days. --For the 2005 Hurricane Livestock Compensation Program, the payment rate for an adult beef cow was $17.48. --A producer may apply for owned or cash-leased livestock physically located in the disaster eligible county at the beginning of the disaster period. --A producer may only select one calendar year to receive benefits from this program. Livestock Indemnity Program --Indemnity payments are to be issued to producers who suffered livestock losses between January 1, 2005, and February 28, 2007, due to a natural disaster in a Presidential or Secretarial-declared disaster county and contiguous counties. --Payments are to be made on deaths of livestock in excess of normal mortality rates for the type of livestock. --Payment rates shall not be less than 26 percent of the market value of the livestock on the day before the date of the death of the livestock. --A producer may only select one calendar year to receive benefits from this program. Emergency Conservation Program --$16 million is made available for the cleanup and restoration of farm and agricultural production lands. Milk Income Loss Contract Program --The MILC program is extended to September 30, 2007 Dairy Assistance --$16 million is appropriated to make payments to dairy producers for dairy production losses in disaster counties as outlined in the livestock assistance programs described in 'Livestock Assistance' above. Farm Service Agency Salary and Expenses --$22 million is appropriated to the Farm Service Agency to administer this program. Date: 7/5/07
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