A row of recently planted soybeans is surrounded by water in a Tippecanoe County field flooded by frequent rains over the past two weeks. (Purdue Agricultural Communication photo/Tom Campbell)
Louisiana Commissioner of Agriculture Mike Strain says he’s been meeting with USDA officials on how to create a better mechanism for farmers to receive assistance when they are impacted by natural disasters. He’s hoping revisions will be added to the new farm bill and he says they may look at having ag added to the Stafford Act.
“For example, FEMA, so that we can get additional dollars that way. What we have now is simply inadequate because what happens after every disaster, is we have to go to congress to get a separate appropriation,” said Strain.
Strain says there’s no standard on how natural disaster funding is handled when they lobby congress for assistance for farmers. Each time he says it’s processed differently, and there needs to be a standard mechanism in place and properly funded.
“We’re also sure that we will be a Secretary Declaration of Disaster, all that is in the works, for the excessive rainwater that we had and will affect a number of parishes,” said Strain.
In addition to soybean crop damage in parts of Louisiana due to excessive late summer rains, Strain says Florida’s agriculture industry sustained massive losses from Hurricane Ian.
“There’s going to be an agriculture disaster bill and if you see Florida’s damage, preliminary damage, all told, it is going to be over $250 billion which will probably exceed the ability of all of those insurance companies to pay that bill,” said Strain.
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