From the Natural Resources Conservation Service

North Carolina farmers with privately owned lands in Federal Emergency Management Agency declared disaster counties can apply for financial assistance to address resource concerns that were caused by 2018 hurricanes.  Financial assistance opportunities are available to eligible applicants through the U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service’s Environmental Quality Incentives Program.

Interested applicants should be able to document damages to cropland, pastureland or forestland, or confined animal operations caused by flooding or wind. Applicants should apply at their local USDA Service Center by February 1, 2019, to have their applications considered for available funding.

FEMA declared disaster counties include Anson, Beaufort, Bladen, Brunswick, Carteret, Chatham, Columbus, Craven, Cumberland, Duplin, Durham, Greene, Guilford, Harrnett, Hoke, Hyde, Johnston, Jones, Lee, Lenoir, Moore, New Hanover, Onslow, Orange, Pamlico, Pender, Pitt, Richmond, Robeson, Sampson, Scotland, Union, Wayne and Wilson.

Through EQIP, NRCS provides agricultural producers with financial resources and one-on-one help to plan and implement natural resource improvements, or what NRCS calls conservation practices. Using these practices can lead to cleaner water and air, healthier soil and better wildlife habitat, all while improving agricultural operations. Through EQIP, you can voluntarily implement conservation practices, and NRCS co-invests in these practices with you.

Farmers and ranchers seeking NRCS financial and technical assistance can sign up at their local NRCS office. Conservation practices also available through EQIP can address flood and wind damage, excessive runoff that is causing hurricane-related natural resource concerns and provide protection from exceptional storm events in the future.

For more information from NRCS, contact your local USDA Service Center or visit the North Carolina NRCS website atwww.nc.nrcs.usda.gov. For more information on disaster assistance programs for farmers and ranchers, visit www.farmers.gov/recover.