USDA ANNOUNCES INITIAL STIMULUS ALLOCATIONS

Over 2000 farmers are recipients

  Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack recently announced the first allocation of the $28 billion received by his department as part of the stimulus package signed by President Obama. The Farm Service Agency (FSA) will immediately get $145 million of the $173 million allocated to the Direct Operating Farm Loan Program, money destined to over 2000 farmers - 50% are "beginning" farmers and 10% are "socially disadvantaged."  The loans can be used for equipment, feed seed, fuel and other operating expenses. The Rural Development Agency (RDA) gets $14.9 million ($1.17 million in loan guarantees) for home ownership financing.  RDA also gets $400 million to processing pending applications for water and waste direct loans. The Forest Service gets almost $100 million of $1.15 billion to be used for hazardous fuels reduction, forest health protection, rehab and hazard mitigation on federal, state and private lands.  The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) will release up to $145 million to restore "frequently flooded" land to its natural state; create easements, and restore and protect about 60,000 acres of flood-prone lands through the floodplain easement component of the Watershed Protection Program, with sign-ups held March 9-27. NRCS will release $80 million of the total for watershed protection programs, and will release $50 million for rehabbing aging watershed projects. The money will also increase by 13.6% the monthly Supplemental Nutrition Assistant Program, meaning recipients' checks go up about $80 per family per month, and an additional $5 million is allocated to the Food Distribution Program on Indian reservations.

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