Farmers affected by wildfire, other disasters set to receive $6 billion in aid
(File photo by Matthew Keys for Solano NewsNet)
Farmers, ranchers and other agriculture producers in California will be eligible to receive funds from a pool of $6 billion that is designed to help offset losses caused by wildfires and other calamities in the state.
The funds were announced by the U.S. Department of Agriculture on Monday and will be disbursed as part of a broader, $10 billion relief program signed into law by President Joe Biden last year.
The package was supported by Congressman Mike Thompson, who said on Tuesday that the assistance was long overdue.
“Family farmers and growers in my district suffered a huge loss because of wildfires and smoke taint, leading to millions in lost revenue,” Thompson said in a prepared statement. “This news from the Department of Agriculture is long overdue, and I am going to continue to work to ensure every family farmer and grower receives the assistance they deserve.”
The money will be offered through the Farm Service Agency’s (FSA) Emergency Relief Program (ERP), with funds offered to help offset crop losses caused by wildfires and other natural disasters.
Officials say Federal Crop Insurance and Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program records will be the basis for payments disbursed to eligible farmers, ranchers and other agriculture producers affected by calamities in 2020 and 2021.
The USDA says as many as 220,000 producers who received insurance compensation for losses associated with natural disasters as well as 4,000 producers who obtained NAP coverage could be eligible for the funds. That would include farmers, ranchers and agriculture businesses affected by the LNU Lightning Complex Wildfire, which tore through parts of rural Solano County in August 2020.
For more information on the ERP, click or tap here.