Disaster Assistance Programs for Citrus

Two disaster assistance programs available to citrus growers were discussed during the virtual 2021 Louisiana State University AgCenter Citrus Symposium. The Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP) and the Tree Assistance Program (TAP) are both offered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farm Services Agency (USDA-FSA). Jamie Rodreguez, a USDA-FSA county executive director in Louisiana, made the presentation.

Rodreguez said NAP reduces grower losses when natural disasters cause a loss of production or prevent planting of a non-insurable crop, including citrus. NAP provides coverage equivalent to the catastrophic risk protection level of USDA crop insurance. Basic NAP coverage is equal to 50 percent of the yield or the inventory value at 55 percent of the market price established by FSA, she said. In order to get a payment from NAP, a grower must have a loss from a weather event in excess of 50% of normal production, she added.

Basic NAP coverage is available for $325 per crop or $825 per producer per county, not to exceed $1,950 for multi-county producers. Additional coverage levels can be obtained by paying an additional premium. Rodreguez said obtaining extra coverage “works for some people, but it’s not a fit-all for every operation.”

There are payment limitations for the NAP program. The limits are $125,000 for the basic coverage and $300,000 for additional coverage.

TAP provides payments to eligible orchardists and nursery tree growers who replant and rehabilitate trees and produce fruit for commercial production. Eligible causes of loss are natural disaster and plant disease. To receive payment, growers must have experienced more than 20% tree mortality. To obtain TAP funds, growers must prove that their losses were a direct result of an eligible natural disaster or plant disease. There is no payment limitation for TAP.   

Learn more here about FSA disaster assistance programs, including NAP and TAP.

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