Tennessee Receives $1.76 Million in Additional Drought Assistance

NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE”” Tennessee has received 1.76 million dollars in additional funding to help crop and livestock producers through the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) and the Wildlife Habitat Incentive Program (WHIP).The additional funding was announced by USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack. The funds are available through NRCS for financial and technical assistance to help apply conservation practices that reduce the impacts of drought and improve soil health and productivity.Nationwide $11.8 million in additional funds have been made available in 22 states.

“As this drought continues to impact American farming and ranching families, USDA will be there to help our agriculture sector recover,” said Vilsack. “This additional assistance builds on a number of steps USDA and other federal agencies have taken over the past few months to provide resources and flexibility in our existing programs to help producers endure these hardships.”

See the additional  NRCS  drought assistance  received by each state. http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/detailfull/national/?cid=STELPRDB1048818

Funding from NRCS targets states that are experiencing either exceptional or extreme drought conditions. Learn about drought conditions and categories. [http://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/]

Exceptional drought continues to dominate sections of Arkansas, Colorado, Georgia, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas and Wyoming, causing widespread losses of crops and pastures and water shortages in reservoirs, streams and wells.

Alabama, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Nevada, South Carolina and Utah are under extreme drought, with accompanying major losses of crops and pasture, widespread water shortages and restrictions on water use.  

The additional funding will allow NRCS to address the backlog in applications from the previous drought assistance signup, as well as accept new applications from producers interested in applying selected conservation practices to address drought, including prescribed grazing, livestock watering facilities and water conservation practices. Producers can also apply for financial assistance to re-install conservation practices that failed due to drought.

Producers and landowners are encouraged to visit the NRCS website [http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/detailfull/national/programs/?&cid=stelprdb1048530] or stop by their local NRCS office [http://offices.sc.egov.usda.gov/locator/app?agency=nrcs] to find out if they are eligible for this new funding.  

Learn more about WHIP and EQIP and other NRCS programs. [http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/main/national/programs]

USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) helps America’s farmers and ranchers conserve the Nation’s soil, water, air and other natural resources. All programs are voluntary and offer science-based solutions that benefit both the landowner and the environment.

Follow NRCS on Twitter [https://twitter.com/USDA_NRCS/]. Checkout other conservation-related stories on USDA Blog [http://blogs.usda.gov/category/conservation/]. Watch videos on our YouTube  [http://www.youtube.com/user/TheUSDANRCS] channel.  

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