Florida Commissioner of Agriculture Wilton Simpson announced the launch of a centralized online information hub for the state’s disaster block grant program for agricultural producers impacted by hurricanes in 2023 and 2024. The new webpage — FDACS.gov/BlockGrant — will serve as the official source for updates, eligibility criteria and application details as they become available.
“Florida’s agriculture industry was hit hard by back-to-back hurricane seasons, and our producers need long-term, meaningful support to recover,” said Simpson. “This website will serve as the go-to resource for Florida’s farmers, ranchers and growers as we develop the program and ultimately launch the application process for more than $600 million in disaster relief funding.”
Florida is the first state in the nation to finalize an agreement with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to implement this newly authorized disaster block grant program. The more than $600 million in federal funding represents approximately 35% of Florida’s total agricultural losses and damage from the 2023 and 2024 hurricane seasons.
The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS), in partnership with USDA, is currently developing a federally required work plan that will detail the eligibility requirements, documentation standards, calculation methodologies and application procedures for the program. Once completed, the work plan will be submitted to USDA for approval.
The plan for availability of disaster block grant funding is as follows:
- Agreement executed with USDA (complete).
- FDACS develops work plan (in progress).
- FDACS submits work plan to USDA for approval.
- USDA approves work plan.
- FDACS announces disaster block grant application process for impacted producers.
More detailed information on timelines and availability will be released as FDACS continues to review additional guidance from the USDA. While FDACS does not have an estimated date for the launch of the program, it stated that it is “working urgently” to provide this much-needed support to Florida’s producers. Once launched, the application for producers will be available here.
Source: FDACS