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December 2006
USDA Farm Service Agency's (FSA) 2005 Hurricanes Citrus Program (CP) provides financial assistance to producers who suffered citrus crop production losses and associated fruit-bearing tree damage, including related clean-up and rehabilitation costs, that resulted from hurricanes Katrina, Ophelia, Rita and Wilma in 2005. Producers in certain counties of Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas may be eligible for the program.
The Emergency Agricultural Disaster Assistance Act of 2006, Public Law 109-234 (the Act), enacted June 2006, authorizes CP. Under the Act, USDA's Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) will provide up to $95 million in benefits to producers through the CP, Nursery, Tropical Fruit, and Fruit and Vegetable programs created by the Act. FSA administers CP on behalf of CCC.
Eligible CP counties are those declared natural disaster areas by President Bush or designated a primary disaster or emergency areas by Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns during the 2005 calendar year due to hurricanes Katrina, Ophelia, Rita and/or Wilma. Counties contiguous to a primary county are also eligible. Counties declared disaster areas by Hurricane Dennis are ineligible for CP because these disaster losses were not provided for in the Act. A complete list of eligible counties is found in the PDF version (358KB) of this fact sheet: CLICK HERE.
To be eligible for CP, a producer must: - Be an owner, operator, landlord, tenant or sharecropper who shares in the risk of producing the citrus crop;
- Be entitled to share in the crop available for marketing from the farm or would have shared had the crop been produced.
Producers who did not market citrus in both 2004 and 2005 are ineligible for CP. However, producers of groves that will be of fruit-bearing age for 2006, but were too immature to produce marketable fruit in 2004 or 2005, are eligible.
Eligible acres must be located in or adjacent to tiers developed by CCC. The tiers are delineated maps, which are available at local FSA county offices. The tiers are based on the severity of destruction as determined by the paths of the storms and damage estimates by CCC.
The loss and damage for each tier are:
- Tier I - 75 percent or greater crop loss and associated tree damage;
- Tier II - 50 to 74 percent crop loss and associated tree damage/loss;
- Tier III - 35 to 49 percent crop loss and associated tree damage/loss; and
- Tier IV - 15 percent and greater associated tree damage only.
Producers who suffered losses that exceed the percentage associated with their respective tiers may submit documentation to CCC requesting the acreage be placed in the next lower-numbered tier representing a greater level of loss and a higher payment rate. In addition, producers with acres outside a designated tier, but in an adjacent county, may be eligible for benefits if they qualify for Tier IV.
Producers who suffered losses below the percentage associated with their respective tiers must certify to the lower loss level on the application. CCC will adjust producer payments accordingly.
Citrus producers will be reimbursed on a per acre basis for each eligible grove.
Payments will be calculated by multiplying the number of net acres in each tier times the applicable payment rate, as determined by CCC, times the producer's share of the loss. The number of net acres is determined by subtracting drainage ditches, canals and similar land uses from the citrus acres planted in the grove. The following table provides the applicable payment rates for producers with crop insurance or NAP coverage and those without coverage. CLICK HERE to view the table, which is found on page 3 of the PDF version (358KB) of this fact sheet.
Payment percentages that are subject to payment limitation and adjusted gross income (AGI) provisions are:
- Tier III - 64 percent; and
Payment percentages that are not subject to payment limitation and AGI provisions are:
- Tier III - 36 percent; and
Producers can receive a maximum of $80,000 in combined benefits from the CP, Nursery, Tropical Fruit, and Fruit and Vegetable programs created by the Act. Producers cannot receive duplicate federal program payments for the same losses due to the 2005 hurricanes.
To receive CP benefits, producers must submit the following to the local FSA Service Center:
- Completed application (Form CCC-552 Citrus);
- Certified statement on the level of destruction;
- Report of acreage identifying the location and number of acres in the disaster-affected area; and
- Proof that the losses and expenses incurred to eligible citrus crops were a direct result of an eligible hurricane.
Sign-up for CP begins Dec. 11, 2006, and ends Feb. 2, 2007. Producers must submit applications and supporting documentation to the FSA office serving the county where the eligible loss occurred.
For more information about FSA and its programs, visit your local USDA Service Center or online at: http://www.fsa.usda.gov.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, and where applicable, sex, marital status, familial status, parental status, religion, sexual orientation, genetic information, political beliefs, reprisal, or because all or part of an individual's income is derived from any public assistance program. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.) Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for communication of program information (Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact USDA's TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TDD). To file a complaint of Discrimination, write to USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20250-9410, or call (800) 795-3272 (voice) or (202) 720-6382 (TDD). USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.
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