Flood Disaster Assistance Program |
The Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) is now accepting applications for flood assistance from agricultural producers in Minnesota counties severely impacted by the record rainfall in July. The 15 eligible counties in the federal disaster declaration are Aitkin, Carlton, Cass, Cook, Crow Wing, Dakota, Goodhue, Itasca, Kandiyohi, Lake, Meeker, Pine, Rice, Sibley St. Louis.
The MDA program will offer financial assistance to help with losses incurred by the flooding.
Losses may include, but are not limited to:
- feed and forage damages,
- damages to buildings or other agricultural structures,
- agricultural equipment losses,
- organic and specialty crop losses, and
- other related farm or ranch damages and expenditures including expenses for clean-up and debris removal.
Applications MUST be postmarked no later than October 24, 2012.
Funds are expected to be delivered in December. Due to limited funds and uncertainty about the number of applications, the MDA cannot estimate the level of reimbursement. After all applications are received, the MDA will calculate these amounts based on the number and size of qualified claims to determine final allocations.
Applicants will be required to provide the following information:
- list of feed inventory or harvested forage losses,
- list of capital damages including fencing, agricultural structural, agricultural equipment, or other capital losses,
- list of debris removal expenses, organic and specialty crop losses and other losses or flood related expenditures, AND
- photocopied receipts or verified estimates.
The MDA also has funds available for the Rural Finance Authority (RFA) Disaster Loan Program. This loan program is shared with a participating local lender and might provide another option of assistance for producers. The RFA finances 45% of the loan at 3% interest rate up to $50,000 and the local lender finances the remaining 55% at current interest rates. Contact your local lender or the RFA at 800-366-8927 for more information.
If you have any questions, please contact MDA through the Minnesota Farmer Assistance Network:
Toll Free at 1-877-898-MFAN (6326) or Twin Cities at 651-201-6326
mfan.mda@state.mn.us
MDA Contact
Kevin Plante, Minnesota Farmer Assistance Network (MFAN) Coordinator
Kevin.Plante@state.mn.us ~ 651-201-6311 (direct)
1-877-898-MFAN (6326) or 651-201-6326 ~ mfan.mda@state.mn.us (MFAN)
Finance & Budget Division |
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