Producers Still Waiting For Disaster Relief
Northeastern Montana farmers who were hit hard by crop losses last year due to excessive moisture still have not received disaster relief funds. U.S. Senator Jon Tester has written the Trump Administration to criticize the nearly 12-month delay. Tester secured an expansion of the Wildfire and Hurricane Indemnity Program Plus to cover these farmers and increased funding for the program by $1.5 billion to pay for it.
“It is absolutely unacceptable that nearly a year after securing this fix, I am hearing from Montana farmers that they are still waiting for payments,” wrote Tester in a letter to Farm Service Agency administrator Richard Fordyce.
“What is the latest date that Montana farmers should expect payments from the WHIP+ program related to 2019 quality loss, excessive moisture, or drought? I am disappointed in Farm Service Agency’s inability to administer this program as Congress intended, and deliver WHIP+ payments to producers impacted by excessive moisture. I look forward to receiving your action plan as to how FSA can correct this situation for Montana farmers, and ensure that going forward WHIP+ does not experience a one-year delay before paying producers.”
Since September 2019, Tester has been requesting relief for producers in eastern Montana who are facing quality losses due to excessive rain and flooding in the region. He has repeatedly pushed Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue to use his authority to support these farmers through the existing WHIP+ guidelines. When Secretary Perdue refused, Tester used the 2019 omnibus appropriations bill to expand the WHIP+ program to include quality loss, drought and excessive moisture and increased its funding by $1.5 billion to cover the new categories.
Tester was the only member of Montana’s delegation to vote for the legislation containing the fix. Following Tester’s fix, the U.S. Department of Agriculture issued a disaster declaration for 17 Montana counties, including Cascade, Chouteau, Pondera, Glacier, Teton, Dawson, Prairie, Toole, McCone, Richland, Roosevelt, Wibaux, Daniels, Rosebud, Sheridan, Treasure and Valley. The FSA opened signup for disaster assistance on March 23, 2020, for producers to apply for eligible losses of drought (D3 or above) and excessive moisture. However, this money has been slow to make it to farmers, if it has made it to them at all.
The full text of Tester’s letter can be read at tester. senate.gov/f iles/Letters/ 2020-09-29%20Letter% 20to%20Admin%20 Fordyce%20re%20WHIP+. pdf.
