With Hurricane Milton looming and the southeast still reeling from Helene, the need for swift and robust support for farmers in the region is more pressing than ever. Representative Kat Cammack (R-FL) has taken the lead in a recent letter to Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, urgently demanding aid. Her call for block grants, Farm Service Agency (FSA) strike forces, and improvements in measuring rainfall is a clear indication of the gravity of the situation.
"We write to request that the U.S. Department of Agriculture to take swift action to support our farmers and rural communities affected by Hurricane Helene. Specifically, we request that the USDA deploy Farm Service Agency (FSA) strike teams to the hardest-hit areas, providing much-needed personnel to assist with recovery efforts," Rep. Cammack's letter began.
As explained in the letter, FSA personnel would "help agricultural producers navigate USDA's disaster programs and processes. These requirements for these programs and processes can be lengthy and complex, and we want to ensure our constituents are able to complete all necessary forms and processes to access the assistance they need," in addition to providing "on-the-ground assistance, assess the extent of the damage, offer technical expertise, and guide farmers and ranchers through the process of applying for USDA relief programs."
Second, Rep. Cammack called for block grants from the Department of Agriculture, noting that "successful recovery efforts rely on a combination of sufficient resources and the expedient delivery of aid. FSA can easily become overwhelmed with agricultural disaster relief due to the current ad hoc nature of disaster assistance, where USDA must create a new disaster program each time funds are appropriated by Congress."
Finally, the call for improvements in measuring rainfall comes from "concerns from producers about RMA rainfall data conflicting with other local rainfall measurements, like rainfall data from local Water Management Districts, particularly in Florida. We are concerned about these inconsistencies because farm programs rely on rainfall data. Inaccurate rainfall measurements can result in miscalculations of payments, unfairly penalizing those who have been hardest hit by these disasters."
Cammack's letter comes as the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has been in hot water after it was found spending approximately $1.4 billion resettling illegal aliens entering the United States, leaving very little money for use in aiding recovery efforts for areas impacted by Hurricane Helene.
