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'Friendly' Disaster Implementation Needed

As the Department establishes the regulations and procedures needed to begin the delivery of the recently enacted agriculture disaster assistance package, the senators are encouraging that Veneman fully utilize the discretionary authority contained in the disaster provisions to ensure that the assistance is provided to eligible farmers and ranchers in a fair and equitable manner.

Five provisions are essential for a disaster aid package that meets the needs of those who really need it.

• The legislation contains a new provision concerning the calculation of the number of head of livestock for which a producer may receive benefits under the Livestock Assistance Program. This provision was included to specifically ensure that producers who sold all or a portion of their livestock herd remain eligible for assistance based on the normal size of livestock herd a producer would likely graze during a normal year rather than the number of animals owned at the end of the production year. In order to implement this provision the senators believe 100% of the normal livestock stocking rate as determined for the Noninsured Assistance Program should be used as the basis for payment.

• Allow producers to deduct producer paid crop insurance premiums from any crop insurance indemnities they may have received for an eligible crop prior to calculating the maximum level of assistance for which a producer is eligible.

• In establishing the level of crop insurance indemnities that are to be deducted from the projected producer revenue under the assistance cap provisions, we encourage you to apply a consistent crop insurance price level, i.e. the APH established price, for each producer regardless of the level of price protection that was purchased.

• The calculation of the projected producer revenue that would have occurred had there been no disaster losses should be based on prices that might have been reasonably expected by the producer.