WAYNE – A deadline is approaching reminding producers to submit applications for disaster recovery assistance through the ‘Wildfire and Hurricane Indemnity Program Plus (WHIP+) for 2018 and 2019 losses.
According to a release from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), these applications are due by this Friday, October 30 as the group also launched a new tool on farmers.gov through the Farm Service Agency to help producers with the application process.
For those who are unsure of your eligibility, you can check out the new WHIP+ tool. This online tool will help determine eligibility along with connecting producers with their local FSA staff. Both 2018 and 2019 had their share of natural disasters as USDA officials encourage impacted producers to apply.
The new tool documents information about a producer’s operation and helps USDA identify producers who may need more information about or assistance with the program application process. After the online survey is completed, the local FSA county office will follow up with producers who provide contact information.
The program 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. To date, FSA has received more than 145,000 applications for WHIP+ disaster assistance.
For more information or application assistance, visit farmers.gov WHIP+ webpage, or contact your local USDA Service Center. To locate your local FSA office, visit farmers.gov/service-center-locator.
More information can be found at farmers.gov/coronavirus.