Friday, October 30 is the deadline to submit applications for USDA’s Wildfire and Hurricane Indemnity Program – Plus (WHIP+) for 2018 and 2019 losses. WHIP+ compensates producers for losses due to hurricanes, floods, snowstorms, tornadoes, typhoons, volcanic activity, drought, excessive moisture and wildfires occurring in calendar years 2018 and 2019. Drought and excessive moisture were added as eligible losses for the program in March 2020.
FSA has launched a new tool on the farmers.gov WHIP+ webpage to help producers understand eligibility for the program and whether they had possible losses in 2018 and 2019. The tool will also allow producers an opportunity to provide information for FSA staff to reach out to them.
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz has issued an emergency executive order to support farmers in the western part of the state. With this effort, the restrictions are lifted on drivers and carriers hauling propane and liquid fuels. The assistance is designed to alleviate the fuel shortage in the area. Walz said his team will continue to look into actions that can support the agricultural industry through these difficult conditions.
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Agriculture Commissioner Thom Petersen will be in East Grand Forks Tuesday to get a first-hand look at the extreme harvest conditions faced by area farmers. In an interview with the Red River Farm Network, Walz said his administration is looking for ways to assist farmers. “It may be regulatory relief on hours-of-service to propane haulers to truck weights to a possible disaster declaration.” An assessment is being made regarding a federal disaster declaration.
“While North Dakota farmers and ranchers are resilient, the situation is billions of dollars of crops remain unharvested.” That was the main message from North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum during a stop in Grand Forks on Monday. “This is an unprecedented amount of economic risk and stress for farmers and ranchers.” That morning, Governor Burgum signed an executive order declaring a statewide flood emergency. The order paves the way for requests for federal assistance to help with the impacts caused by excessive moisture and the historic October blizzard. Additional meetings were held in Fargo, Jamestown and Fessenden.