U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue announced agricultural producers affected by natural disasters in 2018 and 2019 can apply for assistance through the Wildfire and Hurricane Indemnity Program Plus (WHIP+).

In addition to covering 2018 and 2019 eligible losses such as Hurricane Michael, damages from 2017’s Tropical Storm Cindy were specifically included and covered under original WHIP rules.

Eleven Alabama counties were designated as primary natural disaster areas from Tropical Storm Cindy. They are Baldwin, Cherokee, Clarke, Conecuh, Escambia, Hale, Marengo, Mobile, Monroe, Talladega and Washington.

More than $3 billion is available through the disaster relief package passed by Congress and signed by President Trump in early June. WHIP+ builds on the successes of its predecessor program authorized by the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018.

In addition, the relief package included new programs to cover losses for milk dumped or removed from the commercial market and losses of eligible farm-stored commodities due to eligible disaster events in 2018 and 2019. Prevented planting supplemental disaster payments also provide support to producers who were prevented from planting eligible crops for 2019.

Visit farmers.gov/recover to learn more, or contact your local Farm Service Agency office.