Idalia Funds Approved

With your Southeast Regional Ag News, I am Haylie Shipp. This is the Ag Information Network.

Months in its wake, glaring reminders of Hurricane Idalia’s destruction remain.

On Tuesday, Florida Commissioner of Agriculture Wilton Simpson announced that more than $4.5 million has been approved for farmers impacted through the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services’ Agriculture and Aquaculture Producers Natural Disaster Recovery Loan Program and the Silviculture Recovery Program. Launched less than one month ago, the two agricultural recovery programs aim to help Florida farmers, ranchers, and growers rebuild and recover from Hurricane Idalia.

In September, Commissioner Wilton Simpson announced the department’s estimate of nearly $450 million in losses and damage to Florida agriculture from Hurricane Idalia. During a special legislative session in November of 2023, the Florida Legislature passed House Bill 1-C, which provided funding for and directed the department to launch critical recovery programs for impacted agricultural producers.

Learn more at www.fdacs.gov.