This was a tough year for many growers here in Florida. Let’s face it, farming is hard enough to begin with. Now add multiple hurricanes to the multitude of challenges, and profit and yield become even more volatile.
Thankfully, there’s good news coming out of Washington as we head into the holidays and new year.
In late November, the USDA announced two new programs:
- The Marketing Assistance for Specialty Crops (MASC) Program allocates $2 billion to help specialty crop farmers who face higher marketing, handling, and labor costs overcome market challenges, expand market opportunities, and ultimately fortify the domestic supply. Signup for this program started Dec. 10, and the deadline to apply is Jan. 8. For more information, go to https://www.fsa.usda.gov/resources/programs/marketing-assistance-specialty-crops-masc
- The Commodity Storage Assistance Program (CSAP) provides $140 million to help producers gain access to a packinghouse and other facilities for commodities. This program is designed for farmers across the nation facing disaster-related challenges. Participation in this program is expected to be high particularly in the Southeast in the wake of Hurricanes Debbie, Helene and Milton. Producers must be able to show that natural disasters caused a loss in commercial storage or marketing. Applications are expected to be available this month.
As Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack noted, the programs “come at an especially critical time for southeastern farmers, who will face a difficult and long recovery after this season’s devastating hurricanes.”
Here’s hoping it gets our growers through the rough spots and into a new season of prosperity.
