1. Home
2. News & Events
3. FSA News
4. USDA Offers ...

USDA Offers Disaster Assistance to Agricultural Producers in Texas Impacted by Recent Severe Weather, Tornadoes and Flooding

COLLEGE STATION/TEMPLE, Texas, April 10, 2025 - Agricultural operations in Texas have actually been significantly impacted by recent serious weather condition, twisters and flooding. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has technical and financial assistance available to help farmers and animals producers recuperate from these negative weather condition events. Impacted manufacturers must call their regional USDA Service Center to report losses and discover more about program options available to assist in their recovery from crop, land, infrastructure, and animals losses and damages.

USDA Disaster Assistance

Producers who experience livestock deaths in excess of normal death might be qualified for the Livestock Indemnity Program (LIP). To participate in LIP, manufacturers will have to offer appropriate documentation of death losses resulting from a qualified adverse weather occasion and must send a notification of loss and program payment application to the USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) no behind March 2, 2026, for 2025 calendar year losses. Livestock producers who experience losses related to twisters must contact their local FSA workplace for LIP eligibility requirements.

Meanwhile, the Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees, and Farm-Raised Fish Program (ELAP) provides eligible producers with compensation for feed and grazing losses. For ELAP, producers are needed to finish a notice of loss and submit a payment application to their local FSA office no behind the annual program application deadline, March 2, 2026, for 2025 fiscal year losses.

Additionally, eligible orchardists and nursery tree growers might be qualified for cost-share assistance through the Tree Assistance Program (TAP) to replant or fix up eligible trees, bushes or vines. TAP matches the Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP) or crop insurance protection, which covers the crop however not the plants or trees in all cases. For TAP, a program application should be filed within 90 days of the catastrophe event or the date when the loss of the trees, bushes or vines appears.

"Impacted producers must timely report all crop, animals and farm facilities damages and losses to their local FSA county office as soon as possible," stated Erasmo "Eddie" Trevino, Deputy State Executive Director for FSA in Texas. "As you assess your operation, require time to gather essential documents you will require to get help, consisting of farm records, herd inventory, invoices and photos of damages or losses."

FSA also uses a variety of direct and ensured farm loans, including operating and emergency situation farm loans, to producers not able to secure commercial funding. Producers in counties with a main or contiguous catastrophe designation might be eligible for low interest emergency situation loans to assist them recover from production and physical losses. Loans can assist manufacturers change vital residential or commercial property, purchase inputs like livestock, equipment, feed and seed, cover household living costs or refinance farm-related financial obligations and other needs.

Additionally, FSA offers numerous loan servicing alternatives readily available for customers who are not able to make scheduled payments on their farm loan programs financial obligation to the company because of reasons beyond their control.

The Farm Storage Facility Loan Program (FSFL) supplies low-interest funding so producers can develop, fix, change or update centers to save commodities. Loan terms differ from three to 12 years. Producers who sustained damage to or loss of their equipment or infrastructure funded by the FSFL program must call their insurance representative and their local USDA Service Center. Producers in need of on-farm storage need to also contact USDA.

Risk Management

Producers with NAP protection should report crop damage to their regional FSA office and need to file a Notification of Loss (CCC-576) within 15 days of the loss becoming apparent, except for hand-harvested crops, which need to be reported within 72 hours.

Producers with threat security through Federal Crop Insurance need to report crop damage to their crop insurance representative within 72 hours of finding damage and be sure to follow up in composing within 15 days.

"Crop insurance and other USDA risk management choices are provided to assist producers manage threat because we never know what nature has in store for the future," said Jim Bellmon, Director of USDA's Risk Management Agency (RMA) Regional Office that covers Texas. "The Approved Insurance Providers, loss adjusters and agents are experienced and well-trained in managing these types of occasions."

Conservation

FSA's Emergency Conservation Program (ECP) and Emergency Forest Restoration Program (EFRP) can help landowners and forest stewards with monetary and technical support to restore fencing, damaged farmland or forests, and remove debris from feed stocks, water materials and feeding locations.

USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is always available to supply technical support during the healing procedure by assisting manufacturers to plan and implement conservation practices on farms and working forests impacted by natural disasters. The Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) can assist manufacturers strategy and carry out conservation practices on land impacted by natural disasters.

"The Natural Resources Conservation Service can be an extremely important partner to assist landowners with their healing and resiliency efforts," stated Kristy Oates, NRCS State Conservationist in Texas. "Our personnel will work one-on-one with landowners to make evaluations of the damages and develop approaches that focus on efficient healing of the land."

Assistance for Communities

Additional NRCS programs include the Emergency Watershed Protection (EWP) program, which assists city government sponsors with the cost of resolving watershed disabilities or risks such as debris removal and streambank stabilization.

Eligible sponsors include cities, counties, towns or any federally recognized Native American people or tribal company. Sponsors must submit a formal demand (by mail or e-mail) to the NRCS state conservationist for help within 60 days of the natural disaster occurrence or 60 days from the date when access to the websites end up being readily available. For more information sponsors must please call their regional NRCS office.

Additional USDA disaster support information can be discovered on farmers.gov, consisting of USDA resources specifically for producers affected by twisters. Those resources consist of the Disaster Assistance Discovery Tool, Disaster-at-a-Glance fact sheet and Loan Assistance Tool. Additionally, FarmRaise partnered with FSA to release an online education center consisted of videos, tools and interactive resources, consisting of farm loan information and LIP and ELAP choice tools. For FSA and NRCS programs, manufacturers need to call their regional USDA Service Center. For assistance with a crop insurance claim, producers and landowners must call their crop insurance representative.