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USDA Farm and Foreign Service (FFAS) Acting Deputy Under Secretary Karis Gutter traveled to Iowa recently to tour areas damaged by flooding and meet with local producers to discuss USDA efforts to provide assistance. As Acting Deputy Under Secretary of FFAS, Gutter helps oversee two key agencies that can assist with the recovery: the Farm Service Agency (FSA) and the Risk Management Agency. The tour follows up on Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack's visit to affected areas of the Midwest last week.
"This historic flood is already causing substantial hardship for people who live and make their livelihoods along the Missouri River" Gutter says. "USDA has a variety of programs that can help, and Secretary Vilsack has promised that USDA will do everything possible to provide assistance to those affected by flooding."
In the wake of several disasters that have affected the Midwest, USDA and the entire federal family have been working with state and local officials to provide relief to residents, farmers, ranchers, businesses and those who need it most.
The FSA administers several important programs that help producers recover from disaster damage and livestock deaths. Among the key programs available to address impacts from disasters are the Emergency Conservation Program (ECP), the Livestock Indemnity Program (LIP), the Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees and Farm-Raised Fish Program (ELAP), the Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP), and the Supplemental Revenue Assistance Payments (SURE) Program.
Secretary Vilsack announced recently that $3 million has been allocated to the Emergency Watershed Protect Program administered by NRCS to carry out emergency restoration projects in five western states experiencing flooding or at risk for flooding.
Fact sheets for all FSA programs can be found at www.fsa.usda.gov; click on Newsroom, then Fact Sheets. For information about other disaster assistance click here.
