“USDA Farm Service Agency: Addressing Drought” by Bobbie Kriz-Wickham at the 2023 Water for Food Global Conference. A recording of the presentation can be found on the conference playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLSBeKOIXsg3JNyPowwJj6NDSpx4vlnCYj.

1. USDA Farm Service Agency:
Addressing Drought

2. Farm Service Agency
USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) helps America’s farmers, ranchers
and landowners make investments or improvements to their
agricultural operations and assists producers in recovering from the
impacts of natural disasters and market fluctuations.
FSA does this through a variety of disaster assistance, farm loan,
safety net and conservation programs. These programs are
designed to support producers in a way that fosters rural prosperity
and helps ensure a safe, affordable and abundant food supply.

3. Farm Service Agency Footprint

4. Program Triggering Mechanism

5. FSA Programs Portfolio – Drought
• LFP: Livestock Forage Disaster Program
• ELAP: Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees and Farm-
raised Fish
• ECP: Emergency Conservation Program
• CRP: Conservation Reserve Program – EM Hay and Graze
• TAP: Tree Assistance Program
• NAP: Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program

6. Livestock Forage
Disaster Program (LFP)
Livestock Forage Disaster Program (LFP) provides
financial assistance to livestock producers who are
suffering a grazing loss due to an eligible drought
condition, determined by the severity of drought
according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.
Producer must have risk in eligible livestock and must
have risk in eligible grazing lands as basic qualifiers for
this program.
Program is designed to assist with financial resources to
purchase feed for livestock.

7. Emergency Assistance for
Livestock, Honeybees and
Farm-raised Fish (ELAP)
Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees and Farm-
raised Fish (ELAP) Program has financial assistance available
to producers who are facing drought conditions; this includes
assistance such as:
• Livestock – Water Transportation
• Livestock – Additional Mileage for Transporting
Livestock Feed Above Normal (NEW since 2021)
• Livestock – Additional Expense of Transporting
Livestock to Feed (NEW, retroactive to 2021)
• Honeybees – Additional Feed Purchased Above
Normal

8. Conservation Reserve Program (CRP)
Emergency Haying/Grazing
CRP is a voluntary conservation program where
landowners can take environmentally sensitive land out
of production and put it into natural resource-
conserving grasses and trees. Landowners receive an
annual payment in return.
In times of drought emergency haying or grazing of CRP
may be approved, under certain circumstances, to help
provide livestock owners with hay resources.
• All or part of the county is designated as D2 (severe
drought) or greater for one week according the U.S.
Drought Monitor; or
• There is a 40% loss in forage production in the
county in which CRP acreage is physically located.

9. Farm Loan Program Response
• Emergency Loans - In disaster-designated counties and
contiguous counties, loans can cover production costs
associated with disaster year, essential family living expenses,
reorganization of the farm operation or refinance of certain
debts
• Disaster Set-Aside Program – In disaster-designated counties
and contiguous counties, allows the movement of one
payment to the back of the loan amortization period
• Programs are for those who can’t get credit commercially

10. • Extending Government Funding and Delivering Emergency
Assistance Act - signed into law September 2021
• Provides $10 billion in assistance to agricultural producers
impacted by wildfires, droughts, hurricanes, winter storms and
other eligible disasters experienced during calendar years 2020
and 2021
• Additional assistance for producers; broad-based to try and
catch “everyone”
Ad-Hoc Assistance: Emergency Relief Program

11. What Happens When a Producer Comes In?
We will review program options with producers……
• Look at all the tools in the toolbox
• What has triggered already? If it hasn’t, do you think it will?
• Programs have rules which can create “winners” and “losers”
• Drought Monitor - who’s in and who’s out?
• Every producer’s situation is different and emotions often come
into play

12. What Happens When a Producer Comes In?
FSA field staff live and work in their communities
• Long term staff may have known/been working with these
producers their whole entire lives – wanting to help is personal
Stress at work and stress at home are often connected
• Staff THEMSELVES also may be feeling the impact of the drought
personally – quite a number are living the farm/ranch life

13. FSA’s Response
Online training
- Stress management
- Difficult conversations
- Suicide prevention
In-person practice
- Small groups
- Peer-to-peer learning
Office resources
- Local mental health resources
- Practice exercises and discussion topics

14. Lessons Learned
• Practice is important. Reading about what to do
is not the same as doing it.
• We learn from each other. Employees benefited
from sharing their experiences and advice with
their colleagues.
• Consider your workforce’s role. What are the
boundaries? Who are the mental health
professionals?
• Institutionalize processes and follow-on
support. Who do employees go to for guidance,
and to whom do they report concerns?

15. The Nebraska Model – Rural Response Hotline
Includes free mental health vouchers

16. For More Information
www.farmers.gov/protection-recovery
Type
offices.usda.gov
into your internet browser to find your local office
Nebraska FSA State Office
(402) 437-5581
Bobbie Kriz-Wickham
Public Affairs and Outreach Coordinator
bobbie.krizwickham@usda.gov
UbDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer and lender.