Livestock, poultry, woodland and plasticulture farmers who suffered losses in three hurricanes can still apply for federal relief.
The USDA has extended the deadline to Dec. 31 for producers who had losses in hurricanes Michael, Dorian and Florence.
This program will offer direct payments to eligible poultry/livestock and plasticulture producers. Assistance will only involve losses associated with these hurricanes that were not covered under other USDA disaster programs.
It will also offer technical and financial assistance to woodland owners in the emergency-declared counties that were affected by these hurricanes. Comprehensive forest management plans will be offered to those landowners in order to assess the storm impacts to their woodlands and identify beneficial management recommendations.
“We are quickly approaching the original Oct. 1 deadline. In order to give affected producers more time to gather their information, we decided to extend the deadline to Dec. 31,” said Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler.
Poultry/livestock and plasticulture producers will need a current and completed NC Substitute W9 form ready to scan into the application. Additionally, growers are encouraged to research and gather any evidence of poultry/swine structure damage and any damage evidence for plasticulture and greenhouses from those specific storms. They should be prepared to scan documents into the application for consideration of payment.
To apply for assistance for woodlands, log on to the ncforestservice website. For other producers, call 919.707.3362 or log on to ncagr.gov.
