Hurricane Emergency Assistance Updates - Florida

NRCS Assistance

From floods to drought, fire or hurricanes, Florida NRCS provides disaster recovery assistance to farmers, ranchers, landowners and communities through the following programs:

Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP)

NRCS provides financial and technical assistance to agricultural and forest producers to improve or protect natural resource conditions while also improving agricultural operations. NRCS can provide payments, through conservation program contracts, for EQIP conservation practices to help agricultural landowners and producers address disaster related resource concerns on their land.

Emergency Watershed Protection Program (EWP)

EWP recovery projects begin with a local sponsor or legal subdivision of state or tribal government. Eligible sponsors include cities, counties, towns, conservation districts, or any federally recognized Native American tribe or tribal organization. Interested public and private landowners must work through a sponsor. 

Florida Farm Recovery Center Events

Federal agencies, including the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), along with numerous Florida agencies and nonprofit organizations will participate in multiple Farm Recovery Centers during the first two weeks of December 2024.

Following are dates and locations for upcoming Florida Farm Recovery Center (FRC) events to be held December 3-13, 2024. All will be open and available to producers between 9:00am to 3:00pm EST. Please revisit this page prior to traveling to an FRC, as locations may change.

December 3, 2024: Hamilton County 
Ernest Courtoy Civic Center, 1129 NW 4th St Jasper FL  32052

December 5, 2024: Suwannee County 
UF/IFAS County Extension Building, 1302 11th Street SW, Live Oak, FL 32064

December 5, 2024: Lafayette County
Mayo Community Center, 150 NW Community Circle, Mayo, FL 32066

December 6, 2024: Levy County
310 School Street, Bronson, FL 32621

December 9, 2024: Polk County
W.H. Stuart Center, 1710 U.S. 175, Bartow, FL 33830

December 10, 2024: Hendry County
UF/IFAS Extension, 1085 Pratt Boulevard, LaBelle, FL 33935

December 11, 2024: Lee County
North Fort Myers Recreation Center, 2000 N. Recreation Park Way, North Fort Myers, FL  33903 

December 13, 2024: Madison County
UF/IFAS Extension, 184 NW College Loop, Madison, FL 32340

More Information
To learn more about USDA’s disaster recovery assistance for recent hurricanes visit farmers.gov/hurricane.  

USDA NRCS Florida Expedites Disaster Assistance through the Environmental Quality Incentive Program

The sign-up period for this disaster assistance is October 18 – December 20, 2024. 

Learn more here: Full News Release

NRCS Florida Hurricane Recovery Webinar

NRCS Florida hosted a public webinar on October 30, 2024, in support of Hurricane Recovery Assistance to agricultural landowners and producers affected by hurricanes Milton, Helene, and Debby.

Hurricane Milton (October 9, 2024)

Hurricane Milton made landfall Wednesday, October 9, along Florida’s Gulf Coast as a Category 3 storm, bringing powerful winds, deadly storm surge and flooding to much of the state. The cyclone had maximum sustained winds of 120 mph (205 kph) when it landed ashore in Siesta Key, Florida, at 8:30 p.m. 

Florida’s central Gulf Coast was hardest hit, including Hardee, Sarasota, Hillsborough and Manatee counties. The hurricane dumped so much rain over parts of the Tampa Bay area that it qualified as a 1-in-1,000-year rainfall event, according to news reports.  

All NRCS Florida Offices are open as of 10/18/2024. Locate your USDA local service center.

For the latest on USDA efforts, visit the Hurricane Recovery webpage on farmers.gov. 

Find your local USDA Service Center. 

What the U.S. government is doing:    https://www.usa.gov/disasters-and-emergencies

What DHS and FEMA are doing:    https://www.fema.gov/disaster/current

FEMA Map of Florida Designated Areas: Disaster 4828 (10/7/2024):

Hurricane Helene (September 26, 2024)

Hurricane Helene made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane near Perry, Florida, at 11:20 p.m., Thursday, September 26, 2024, with 140 mph winds, the National Hurricane Center reported. Helene marks the first known Category 4 storm to hit Florida’s Big Bend region since records began in 1851. Flooding and tornadoes were a major threat as the storm pushed north through the Big Bend area of Florida into Georgia, the Carolinas, Tennessee, and Virginia. Several Florida counties were under flood and tornado watches. Record-setting rain caused flash flooding throughout the Big Bend region and coastal towns. 

Impact on Agriculture, Forestry, and Rural Communities:  

• NRCS Florida office closures as of 10/1/2024: All NRCS offices are open.
• Florida Governor Ron DeSantis issued Executive Order 24-209 on September 24, amending EO 24-208 and declaring a state of emergency for 61 counties.  

USDA Response & Long-Term Recovery:  

• NRCS Florida State Conservationist Juan Hernandez met with the Florida Forest Service, Florida Forestry Association, and USDA Farm Service Agency, on October 1, to coordinate assistance for forestry landowners; he also met with the Cattlemen’s Association to coordinate assistance. He will also soon meet with Farm Bureau.
• Assessments of damages related to Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Debby will start on October 21.

Hurricane Debby (August 5, 2024)

Hurricane Debby made landfall on Florida's Big Bend at 7 a.m. ET, August 5, 2024, as a Category 1 hurricane with 80 mph winds, the National Hurricane Center said. It was downgraded at 11 a.m. to a tropical storm as it moved toward the Georgia coast and the coasts of the Carolinas. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency for 61 counties. Rain was the major threat as the storm pushed slowly northeast. Several counties were under flood and tornado watches.

Hurricane Idalia (2023)

Hurricane Idalia made landfall about 7:45 a.m., August 30, 2023, near Taylor County’s Keaton Beach as a Category 3 storm, the National Hurricane Center said. The hurricane center said maximum sustained winds were 125 mph, which is 5 mph below the threshold for a Category 4 storm. Idalia then moved through areas of North Florida in the Big Bend region of Florida, with hurricane conditions expected elsewhere in portions of the hurricane warning area along the Florida Gulf Coast. Strong winds spread inland across portions of northern Florida and southern Georgia. Storm surges occurred up to 12 to 16 feet in hurricane impacted coastal areas. A State of Emergency was declared in 49 Florida counties. Evacuation notices were issued in 28 counties, according to news reports. Idalia is the strongest hurricane to make landfall in the Big Bend region, the nook between the panhandle and peninsula, in more than 125 years. Major agricultural damages include:  peanuts, vegetable crops, orchards, chicken houses, hay barns, and fencing. Poultry operations estimate as many as five million chickens died from the storm.

A virtual public meeting was held September 12, 2023, to share information on NRCS emergency assistance (for EQIP and EWP). 

Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) Emergency Assistance for Hurricane Idalia - Application deadline closed November 17, 2023.

Florida EQIP - Emergency Declaration Counties for Hurricane Idalia (2023):  Alachua, Baker, Bradford, Citrus, Columbia, Dixie, Gilchrist, Hamilton, Hernando, Jefferson, Lafayette, Leon, Levy, Madison, Marion, Pasco, Pinellas, Suwannee, Taylor, Union, and Wakulla Counties.

EQIP conservation practices eligible for financial assistance in Hurricane Idalia emergency declaration counties (Practice Name, Practice Code & Units):

• Clearing and Snagging (326 - ac)
• Conservation Cover (327 - ac)
• Cover Crop (340 - ac)
• Critical Area Planting (342 - ac)
• Emergency Animal Mortality Management (368 - amu)
• Fence (382 - ft)
• Mulching (484 - ac)
• Obstruction Removal (500 - no)  
• Woody Residue Treatment (384 - ac)

Emergency Watershed Protection (EWP) Assistance - Application deadline closed October 29, 2023

EWP assistance is available to Florida communities impacted by Hurricane Idalia. NRCS encourages local and state governments to serve as sponsors and request assistance to relieve imminent hazards to life and property caused by the hurricane. For efficiency, NRCS set up an e-mail inbox for potential sponsors to submit requests for EWP assistance at: SM.FPAC.NRCS.FLEWP@USDA.GOV. The deadline to request EWP assistance for this period was October 29, 2023.

Hurricane Nicole (2022)

Hurricane Nicole made landfall as a Category 1 hurricane just south of Vero Beach, Florida, at 3:00 a.m. Thursday, November 10, 2022, packing maximum sustained winds of 75 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center. Later becoming a tropical storm, the system brought heavy rains and strong winds across central Florida. Landing on Florida’s eastern shores, Nicole is the first hurricane to hit the US in November in nearly 40 years.

Hurricane Ian (2022)

Hurricane Ian made landfall early Wednesday afternoon on September 28, 2022, near Charlotte Harbor area in southwest Florida as a Category 4 storm – nearly a Category 5, with winds of 155 mph. Most of the southwest coast of Florida, experienced and life-threatening risk from catastrophic storm surges, wind, and flooding. The storm moved slowly over the peninsula and lingered over central Florida into the early morning hours of Thursday, September 29, 2022, dumping heavy rains with wind gusts up to 50mph. Hurricane winds extended out 45 miles from the center as it made landfall. The northeast area of the state, near St. John’s River, was also impacted heavily as the storm continued its northeast trajectory across the state.as a Category 4 storm with winds of 155 mph.

To expedite Hurricane Ian disaster recovery, NRCS offered early start waivers in EQIP emergency declaration counties, to allow commencement of key conservation practices prior to conservation program contract approval. Producers were asked to file an EQIP application and a waiver before beginning an EQIP conservation practice. The deadline for interested landowners and producers to sign up was November 15, 2022.