Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler reminds growers that time is running out to apply for assistance through the USDA’s Quality Loss Adjustment Program. The deadline to apply is March 5.
“Many growers, including tobacco growers, may not even know they are eligible for the program, which provides assistance for quality losses that occurred in 2018 and 2019 due to weather-related disasters,” Troxler said. “I urge farmers to go to the USDA website and see if they qualify. Generally, crops that can be covered by federal crop insurance or the Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program are considered eligible.
“Without question, 2018 and 2019 provided qualifying weather disasters that likely impacted the quality of crops, resulting in a loss for producers,” he added. “But a county did not have to receive a qualifying disaster declaration or designation for producers to be eligible. Supporting documentation of weather data from a reliable source may be accepted.”
Eligible crops may have been sold, fed on-farm to livestock, or may be in storage at the time of application. For more information on the USDA Farm Service Agency program, including how to apply, go to https://www.farmers.gov/quality-loss.
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