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Area farmers could get up to $200K in federal disaster aid
Deadline to apply is Feb. 2
W Pecan damage from Matthew
In this November 2016 file photo, Garland NeSmith visits one of his pecan orchards, this one near Brooklet, where examples of widespread damage from Hurricane Matthew are seen: a fallen limb dead in front, a fallen but still green tree behind him and more trees down in the distance. - photo by AL HACKLE/file

Farmers in Bulloch and Candler counties who lost orchard trees, suffered damaged fences or equipment due to downed trees and wind or experienced debris cleanup costs following Hurricane Matthew may be eligible for assistance through the Emergency Conservation Program offered by the Bulloch-Candler County Farm Service Agency Office.

The assistance is not meant to replace crop value but to repair and restore farmland damaged by the storm, regardless of whether the affected land is used for cotton, blueberries, peanuts, pecans or any other crop grown in the area, said Gay C. Harris, an agent with the Bulloch-Candler FSA Office.

The program could help many of the 400-plus farms in Bulloch County or the 170-plus farms in Candler County, she said, adding that the program covers farms "from small to large."

"It could affect any size farm in these counties," she said.

Farmers may be eligible for the program if the damage to their farms is so costly to rehabilitate that federal assistance "is or will be needed to return the land to productive agricultural use," if it "is unusual and is not the type that would recur frequently in the same area," if it "would affect the productive capacity of the farmland," or if it impairs or endangers the land, she said.

Damages requiring repair such as removing debris from farmland or restoring permanent fences could render a farm eligible, she said.

A farmer qualifying for ECP assistance "may receive cost-share levels not to exceed 75 percent of the eligible cost of restoration measures."

"No producer is eligible for more than $200,000 cost sharing per natural disaster occurrence," she said.

Farmers who have suffered a loss may contact the Bulloch-Candler County FSA Office (located at the Bulloch Center for Agriculture, 151 Langston Chapel Road, Statesboro) to apply for assistance through Feb. 2. The local FSA County Committee or its representative then will conduct on-site inspections of each of the applicants' damage to determine whether the lands are eligible for ECP funds.

The Bulloch-Candler FSA Office also may be contacted by phone at (912) 871-2600.