PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT

Time Running Out for 2008 Farm Act Disaster Relief Program Buy-In: Deadline September 16

ARLINGTON, VA, September 12, 2008 — The new farm bill authorized a new disaster payment program. That program requires you to have crop insurance on all crops on all the farms in all parishes, in order to be eligible for any potential assistance. If you have a crop that is not coverable by crop insurance, such as crawfish, you must have non-insured crop assistance, also called NAP.

For the 2008 crop year only, if you did not meet the crop insurance requirements for all your crops on all your farms in all parishes, you can still become eligible by going to FSA by the September 16th deadline and paying buy-in fees. Paying the fees won’t buy you insurance, but it will make you eligible for any potential disaster assistance.

Remember, if you do not meet these basic requirements, you will not be eligible for any potential 2008 disaster payment. The best advice we can give you is to get over to your FSA office by the September 16th deadline to determine what you need to do for 2008.

The new program becomes effective when the Secretary of Agriculture declares a disaster, or if a farm has a greater than 50 percent whole-farm loss on all crops in all parishes planted or intended to be planted for harvest. USDA must first write the new program’s rules before implementing it.

CONTACT: Johnny Broussard, (703) 236-1451