Secretary Naig Commends Federal Disaster Aid to Help

Mike Naig

Farmers Affected by Flooding

DES MOINES, Iowa (June 4, 2019) – Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig issued the following statement in response to the announcement that the House passed the federal disaster aid bill last night.

“I want to thank Gov. Reynolds for her continued leadership and our congressional delegation for including provisions in this disaster relief bill that address the needs of Iowa farmers who suffered staggering losses during the spring flooding,” said Secretary Naig. “This is a critical first step to recovery. I am committed to working with the affected landowners and agribusinesses as they clean up fields and damaged grain and take important steps to resume normal business activities.”

Secretary Naig is leading the Ag Working Group for Gov. Reynolds’ Flood Recovery Task Force.

Breakdown of the $19.1 billion federal disaster aid package:

Approximately $3 billion is provided to the USDA Office of the Secretary to cover producers’ agricultural losses due to natural disasters.
$435 million will be provided to the Emergency Watershed Protection Program (EWPP) for rural watershed recovery.
$558 million will be provided to the Emergency Conservation Program (ECP) for repairs to damaged farm land.
$150 million will be allocated to repair Rural Development Community Facilities in towns affected by natural disasters.

Estimated agricultural flood damage in Fremont, Mills and Pottawattamie counties:

1.9 million bushels of corn lost
482,000 bushels of soybeans lost
2.4 million bushels of corn and soybeans lost in on-farm storage, valued at $10.9 million
418 grain bins damaged, valued at $11.6 million