Congress is at an impasse over disaster funding for Midwest floods, Hurricanes Florence and Michael, California wildfires and hurricane recovery in Puerto Rico.
“Losses total more than $8 billion, and the full impact of recent flooding in the Midwest is still being assessed,” said American Farm Bureau President Zippy Duvall. “But we know that many farmers are facing near-complete losses of their crops, livestock and farm infrastructure. In times of unprecedented natural disaster, our nation always has stepped up to help farmers and ranchers recover from circumstances beyond their control and to restore their farms to productivity, so we can get back to the business of feeding our people and our economy. Farm Bureau urges U.S. senators to support farmers and ranchers and the rural communities impacted by these catastrophic weather events by moving past this political impasse.”
Yet, even if a funding measure is passed, it may not help farmers whose stored grain was damaged by floodwaters.
USDA has no program to cover crops stored in bins that were damaged by widespread flooding in the nation’s heartland, USDA Under Secretary Bill Northey said during a recent flight over Iowa, Reuters reported. Indigo Ag estimates between 5 million to 10 million bushels of corn and soybeans could have been damaged in the flood.
In Iowa, 59 of the state’s 99 counties have been issued a disaster proclamation because of the widespread flooding, the Des Moines Register reported. Residents in those areas are now eligible for financial assistance.
Meanwhile, individuals are helping their neighbors. A Kansas woman purchased 204 pairs of shoes from a closing Payless ShoeSource, where the business dropped prices to $1 per pair, and donated them to Nebraska flood victims, USA Today reported. The retail value would have been more than $6,000.