Agriculture and Forestry Commissioner Mike Strain, D.V.M., said $16 million in USDA Emergency Conservation Program (ECP) funds are available through USDA's Farm Service Agency (FSA) to eligible Louisiana farmers and ranchers to repair farmland damaged by hurricanes Gustav and Ike.

The deadline to sign-up for the disaster aid in applicable ECP parishes is Jan. 15, 2009.

Strain said the program is available to eligible producers on a 75-25 cost-share basis for debris removal, repair conservation structures and fences that were damaged by the hurricanes.

"This is a much needed boost for Louisiana producers that suffered tremendous losses following sister storms Gustav and Ike," Strain said. "No parish or commodity was spared by these storms."

For land to be eligible, under USDA rules, the disaster must have created new conservation problems that:
-if left untreated, will impair or endanger the land;
-materially affect the land's productive capacity;
-represent unusual damage that, except for wind erosion, is not likely to recur frequently in the same area; and
-would be so costly to repair that federal assistance is or will be required to return the land to productive agricultural use.


Producers located in the following parishes may be eligible for assistance through the USDA: Ascension, Assumption, Avoyelles, Calcasieu, Cameron, Concordia, East Baton Rouge, East Feliciana, Evangeline, Iberia, Iberville, Jefferson Davis, Jefferson, Lafayette, Lafourche, Livingston, Natchitoches, Orleans, Plaquemines, Pointe Coupee, St. Bernard, St. Charles and St. Helena, St. James, St. John, St. Landry, St. Martin, St. Mary, Tangipahoa, Terrebonne, Vermilion, West Baton Rouge and West Feliciana.

Conservation problems that were present before the storms are not eligible for the cost-share assistance.
"This is a step in the right direction," Strain said. "There is still much work to be done to secure adequate disaster funds for Louisiana farmers and ranchers."
For additional information on eligibility requirements and applications, producers may visit their local FSA office or http://disaster.fsa.usda.gov.