Farm Progress

Producers hit by recent tornadoes and derechos may be eligible for a new USDA cost-share program to rebuild damaged grain storage facilities.

Compiled by staff

September 27, 2022

2 Min Read
broken trees with damaged grain bins in background
AID FOR FARMERS: Devastating tornadoes struck Kentucky on December 10, 2021, causing widespread destruction.Getty/iStockphoto

The U.S. Department of Agriculture will make $20 million in cost-share assistance available through the Farm Service Agency to help agricultural producers in Kentucky, Minnesota, South Dakota and surrounding areas to rebuild storage facilities damaged by natural disaster events in 2021 and 2022. This assistance will help producers who were hard-hit by disasters and are currently struggling with a lack of available grain storage have the resources they need as they head into the 2022 crop harvest. 

“Over the past two years, weather events in several states caused catastrophic losses to grain storage facilities on family farms as well as a large, commercial grain elevator, leaving stored grain exposed to the elements and affecting commodity marketing options for many producers,” says Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. “Congress has provided USDA with important flexibility through the Commodity Credit Corporation, which gives us the tools to be nimble as we work to support the production and marketing of agricultural commodities and quickly respond to agricultural producers’ needs.”

The assistance is designed to help producers affected by the December 2021 tornadoes that passed through eleven counties in Kentucky, as well as producers in Minnesota and South Dakota affected by the derechos that swept through these states in May 2022 and July 2022.   

USDA anticipates that the funds will cover 75% of the eligible expenses associated with building grain storage capacity or purchasing equipment such as grain baggers for a producer’s own use or for a shared-cost arrangement among a group of producers who want to use a common facility. The program will be focused on supporting producers in their efforts to build new storage capacity in eligible areas where there is a shortage of local grain storage. 

Eligibility

Details on the program and the process to seek cost share will be available in coming weeks. USDA also has an existing Farm Storage Facility Loan Program that can immediately provide low-interest financing.  Producers should contact their local service center for details or to ensure they are on a list for updates.

To determine locations where producers may be eligible for emergency grain storage facility assistance, state impact area maps for Kentucky, Minnesota, South Dakota and surrounding areas are now available online. These maps depict damaged storage facility locations and counties within a 30-mile radius of these facilities where producers may be eligible for this new program. If a producer believes their county should also qualify for this program, there will be a procedure to consider and add additional counties.

Source: USDA, which is solely responsible for the information provided and is wholly owned by the source. Informa Business Media and all its subsidiaries are not responsible for any of the content contained in this information asset. 

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