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USDA Approves Emergency Forest Restoration Assistance for All Counties in Alabama

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FPAC.BC.Press@usda.gov!.?.! Additional preservation

, farm loan and catastrophe healing options readily available for drought-related tree loss MONTGOMERY, Ala., Sept. 23, 2024 -U.S. Department of Agriculture( USDA) Farm Service Agency( FSA) today announced that all 67 Alabama counties have been authorized for the Emergency Forest Restoration Program( EFRP )to restore and restore personal forest lands affected by extreme drought and related insect infestation damage. The EFRP signup duration ranges from September 30, 2024, to March 31, 2025. EFRP is a performance-based, cost-share program that supplies financial and

technical assistance to owners of nonindustrial personal forestland (NIPF) to bring back NIPF harmed by a certifying natural disaster." It is essential that forest landowners who have actually trees affected by drought and insect invasion, quickly get Emergency Forest Restoration Program help throughout the signup period. Program funds will be obligated to eligible applications based upon on-site evaluations to figure out the level of the damage and restore forest health," said Clifton Warren, FSA State Executive Director in Alabama." Eligible landowners who have not formerly participated in FSA programs are motivated to contact their regional FSA county office as soon as possible to develop farm records." EFRP Participation Requirements After EFRP applications are sent, regional FSA county committees determine land eligibility based upon on-site evaluations performed by a local forester who will examine the type and extent of damage, and the repair activities needed to bring back forest health. FSA will authorize applications based upon the onsite restoration need. Financial help is not provided in advance. Cost-share is compensated at no more than 75% of the lower of the real costs incurred or allowable expense after a repair activity is complete.

If an EFRP application is authorized, the program individual is expected to carry out restoration and conservation practices based on the FSA-848A Cost-Share Agreement and remediation plan offered. The minimum certifying expense of restoration is$ 1,000 and the EFRP payment limitation is$ 500,000. To get involved in EFRP, eligible candidates must:- Complete remediation to meet the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service and/or state forestry company technical standards.- Document and keep records of all

costs sustained to complete the repair activities,

including expenses associated with individual labor.- To satisfy eligibility requirements, NIPF land should have existing tree cover or had tree cover right away before the natural disaster occurred and be sustainable for growing trees. The land must also be owned or leased by a nonindustrial personal individual
, group, association, corporation or other private legal entity that has conclusive decision-making authority over the land. The natural catastrophe occasion should have resulted in damage that, if neglected, would hinder or threaten the natural resources on the land and/or materially affect future usage of the land. Eligible EFRP Restoration/Rehabilitation Practices For qualified program participants who have approved applications, EFRP offers cost-share support for the following restoration and rehabilitation practices:- Forest stand enhancement -tree removal and thinning -Woody residue treatment- woody

slash and particles elimination- Site preparation for forest remediation- Tree planting -Prescribed burning and firebreaks- Conservation structures, i.e. roads, stream crossing, fence Additional Assistance Available Landowners experiencing drought associated losses, consisting of pine decrease, of eligible trees planted on Conservation Reserve Program( CRP) acres may be qualified for as much as 50 %cost-share, not to exceed the Alabama state typical cost
, to rehabilitate
and replant the trees. CRP program individuals must call their FSA county workplace to determine next actions. Additionally, qualified orchardists and nursery tree growers may be qualified for cost-share assistance through the Tree Assistance Program to replant or rehabilitate qualified trees, bushes or vines. TAP matches the Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program or crop insurance protection, which covers the crop however not the plants or trees in all cases. For TAP, a program application must be submitted within 90 days of the disaster occasion or the date when

the loss of the trees, bushes or vines appears. FSA likewise provides a range of direct and guaranteed farm loans, consisting of operating and emergency situation farm loans, to producers not able to protect commercial financing. Producers in counties with a main or contiguous catastrophe designation might be eligible for low interest emergency situation loans to assist them recuperate from production and physical losses. Loans can assist producers change essential residential or commercial property, purchase inputs like animals, equipment, feed and seed, cover household living expenses or re-finance farm-related financial obligations and other requirements. Additionally, FSA uses a number of loan maintenance choices offered for debtors who are unable to make scheduled payments on their farm loan programs debt to the agency since of factors beyond their control. Discover more about EFRP in this Farmers.gov blog site and the EFRP factsheet. Additional USDA disaster assistance information can be discovered on farmers.gov, consisting of USDA resources specifically for producers affected by drought. Those resources include the Disaster Assistance Discovery Tool, Disaster-at-a-Glance reality sheet and Loan Assistance Tool.