The USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) has authorized policy exceptions for disaster assistance programs to aid Florida agricultural and aquacultural operations that were significantly impacted by Hurricane Ian in 2022. The Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees, and Farm-Raised Fish Program (ELAP) provides assistance to growers of farm-raised shellfish for death losses due to an eligible natural disaster event. For ELAP, FSA will still accept late-file acreage certifications for 2022 with no fee and no field inspection required. Growers will need to provide the local FSA county committee with evidence that the shellfish existed prior to the qualifying natural disaster event, including proof of purchase of stock, etc. For assistance, growers should contact their local USDA Service Center. The Ft. Myers Service Center is now open (phone: 239-997-7331 Ext 4).
Forms & Resources:
- ELAP Factsheet
- Acreage report form – should include, grower information, AQ lease name and number, type and size of mollusk, how many containers/bags planted and how many per container/bag per size, separated by planting dates
- Documentation requirements
- Emergency Loss Assistance form
Note this is an important exception as shellfish growers with claims of losses from Hurricane Ian in September 2022, would have had to file an inventory acreage report to their county office by September 30, 2021. The ELAP program was only made available to aquaculturists in June 2021 resulting in many growers not filing by that date.
