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USDA Approves Emergency Forest Restoration Assistance for All Counties in Alabama

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, farm loan and disaster recovery alternatives offered for drought-related tree loss MONTGOMERY, Ala., Sept. 23, 2024 -U.S. Department of Agriculture( USDA) Farm Service Agency( FSA) today revealed that all 67 Alabama counties have actually been approved for the Emergency Forest Restoration Program( EFRP )to restore and rehabilitate private forest lands impacted by severe drought and related insect invasion damage. The EFRP signup period runs from September 30, 2024, to March 31, 2025. EFRP is a performance-based, cost-share program that provides financial and

technical help to owners of nonindustrial personal forestland (NIPF) to bring back NIPF harmed by a certifying natural catastrophe." It is essential that forest landowners who have trees affected by drought and insect problem, promptly look for Emergency Forest Restoration Program help during the signup duration. Program funds will be bound to eligible applications based on on-site evaluations to identify the extent of the damage and bring back forest health," said Clifton Warren, FSA State Executive Director in Alabama." Eligible landowners who have not previously got involved in FSA programs are motivated to call their local FSA county office as quickly as possible to establish farm records." EFRP Participation Requirements After EFRP applications are submitted, regional FSA county committees figure out land eligibility based upon on-site examinations carried out by a regional forester who will examine the type and extent of damage, and the repair activities required to restore forest health. FSA will approve applications based upon the onsite restoration requirement. Financial help is not offered in advance. Cost-share is repaid at no greater than 75% of the lower of the actual expenses sustained or permitted expense after a remediation activity is complete.

If an EFRP application is authorized, the program participant is expected to carry out repair and preservation practices based upon the FSA-848A Cost-Share Agreement and restoration strategy supplied. The minimum certifying expense of remediation is$ 1,000 and the EFRP payment constraint is$ 500,000. To get involved in EFRP, qualified applicants should:- Complete remediation to meet the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service and/or state forestry agency technical standards.- Document and keep records of all

costs incurred to complete the repair activities,

including expenses associated with personal labor.- To meet eligibility requirements, NIPF land must have existing tree cover or had tree cover immediately before the natural disaster occurred and be sustainable for growing trees. The land should likewise be owned or leased by a nonindustrial private person , group, association, corporation or other personal legal entity that has definitive decision-making authority over the land. The natural disaster event need to have led to damage that, if without treatment, 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 eligible program participants who have actually authorized applications, EFRP offers cost-share assistance for the following remediation and rehabilitation practices:- Forest stand enhancement -tree removal and thinning -Woody residue treatment- woody

slash and debris removal- Site preparation for forest restoration- Tree planting -Prescribed burning and firebreaks- Conservation structures, i.e. roadways, stream crossing, fence Additional Assistance Available Landowners experiencing dry spell associated losses, including pine decline, of eligible trees planted on Conservation Reserve Program( CRP) acres may be qualified for as much as 50 %cost-share, not to go beyond the Alabama state average cost , to rehabilitate and replant the trees. CRP program participants must contact their FSA county workplace to figure out next actions. Additionally, eligible orchardists and nursery tree growers might be eligible for cost-share support through the Tree Assistance Program to replant or fix up eligible trees, bushes or vines. TAP complements the Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program or crop insurance coverage, which covers the crop but not the plants or trees in all cases. For TAP, a program application need to be submitted within 90 days of the or the date when

the loss of the trees, bushes or vines appears. FSA also offers a range of direct and ensured farm loans, including operating and emergency situation farm loans, to manufacturers unable to secure commercial financing. Producers in counties with a primary or contiguous catastrophe classification may be eligible for low interest emergency situation loans to help them recover from production and physical losses. Loans can assist producers change essential residential or commercial property, purchase inputs like animals, equipment, feed and seed, cover family living expenses or refinance farm-related debts and other requirements. Additionally, FSA offers a number of loan servicing choices offered for customers who are not able to make scheduled payments on their farm loan programs financial obligation to the firm since of reasons beyond their control. Find out more about EFRP in this Farmers.gov blog and the EFRP factsheet. Additional USDA disaster help details can be found on farmers.gov, including USDA resources specifically for producers impacted by dry spell. Those resources consist of the Disaster Assistance Discovery Tool, Disaster-at-a-Glance reality sheet and Loan Assistance Tool.