USDA Announces Disaster Payments for Kansas Farmers

WASHINGTON – On Friday, U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue announced the distribution of additional payments for farmers impacted by 2018 and 2019 disasters, including drought and flooding, through the Wildfires and Hurricane Indemnity Program Plus (WHIP+).

“Our farmers have endured a lot over the last two years, many going from not enough moisture to too much rainfall,” said U.S. Congressman Roger Marshall, M.D. “Several counties saw unprecedented weather conditions that proved too much for the crops. It is important we continue to provide assistance for farmers dealing with extreme weather events and adverse growing conditions to help them continue their operations and provide us with the safest and most affordable food supply in the world.”

A June 2019 disaster relief package allocated more than $3 billion for disaster assistance and a December 2019 appropriations act provided an additional $1.5 billion to help farmers impacted by severe weather events.

“It’s true that farmers and ranchers are no strangers to the impact natural disasters have on their operations, but disaster events the past two years have been atypically widespread, relentless and unforgiving,” said Secretary Perdue. “In some instances, producers have suffered multiple disaster events in one year or in several years back-to-back. I am pleased that Congress has afforded USDA the authority to continue providing much-needed assistance to producers who have lost so much these last few years. President Trump has the backs of our farmers, and we aim to support them as they recover.”

Sign up for the WHIP+ will begin March 23 and farmers must visit their local FSA to apply. Counties were made eligible for funding by either receiving a D3 or greater drought designation by the U.S. Drought Monitor or were included in a federal disaster declaration. Eligibility will include crops grown in both 2018 and 2019.

The payments will be issued using a formula that includes the WHIP factor and level of crop insurance carried on each crop. The WHIP factor is between 75 and 95 percent for producers who did obtain crop insurance or NAP coverage. Producers who elected the highest coverage level will receive 95 percent. Those with no crop insurance or NAP coverage will receive 70 percent.

Eligible Counties

Allen:  2019 only

Anderson:  2019 only

Atchison:  2019 only

Barber:  2018 and 2019

Barton:  2019 only

Bourbon:  2019 only

Brown:  2019 only

Butler:  2019 only

Chase:  2019 only

Chautauqua:  2019 only

Cherokee:  2019 only

Clark:  2019 only

Clay:  2018 and 2019

Cloud:  2019 only

Coffey:  2019 only

Comanche:  2019 only

Cowley:  2019 only

Crawford:  2019 only

Dickinson:  2019 only

Doniphan:  2019 only

Douglas:  2019 only

Edwards:  2019 only

Elk:  2019 only

Ellsworth:  2019 only

Ford:  2019 only

Franklin:  2019 only

Geary:  2019 only

Gove:  2019 only

Graham:  2018 only

Gray:  2019 only

Greenwood:  2019 only

Harper:  2019 only

Harvey:  2019 only

Hodgeman:  2019 only

Jefferson:  2019 only

Johnson:  2019 only

Kingman:  2018 and 2019

Kiowa:  2018 only

Labette:  2019 only

Leavenworth:  2019 only

Lincoln:  2019 only

Linn:  2019 only

Lyon:  2019 only

Marion:  2019 only

Marshall:  2018 and 2019

McPherson:  2019 only

Meade:  2019 only

Miami:  2019 only

Montgomery:  2019 only

Morris:  2019 only

Nemaha:  2019 only

Neosho:  2019 only

Ness:  2019 only

Osage:  2019 only

Osborne:  2019 only

Ottawa:  2019 only

Pawnee:  2019 only

Phillips:  2019 only

Pottawatomie:  2019 only

Pratt:  2018 and 2019

Rawlins:  2019 only

Reno:  2019 only

Rice:  2018 and 2019

Riley:  2018 and 2019

Rush:  2019 only

Russell:  2019 only

Saline:  2019 only

Sherman:  2018 only

Smith:  2019 only

Stafford:  2019 only

Sumner:  2019 only

Wabaunsee:  2019 only

Wallace:  2019 only

Washington:  2019 only

Wilson:  2019 only

Woodson:  2019 only

Wyandotte:  2019 only