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2021 Drought Relief & May 2022 Storm Financial Assistance Available for Farmers

June 7, 2022

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There are two opportunities available for farmers to apply for financial assistance due to the 2021 drought and for damages caused by this spring’s storms. Please share these opportunities with others in your network who may have been affected and see below for webinars on how to prepare and apply for drought relief funding!

2021 Drought Relief

The Minnesota Legislature passed $8.1 million for drought relief funding for specialty crop and livestock producers impacted by last summer’s drought. Eligible farmers can apply for up to $7,500 in drought related expenses such as water handling equipment (new or improvements made to wells, irrigation equipment, etc.) feed transportation for livestock and livestock hauling, and more. For more details on eligible expenses, see the Minnesota Department of Agriculture’s (MDA) 2021 Drought Relief Program page here.

The application portal will be opening June 21 and farmers need to start preparing now to quickly apply for funding. The MDA will be administering the grant dollars, and the application will be open for 10 business days; MDA strongly encourages folks to apply online. You will not have to submit receipts of expenses along with your application, but MDA does recommend that you start gathering receipts to have those handy.

To help get you ready for submitting your application, two Zoom webinars are available to help you prepare your documents (for example, filling out a W-9 form) and a webinar with MDA to walk through the actual application once it is live. Click the links below to register!

2 Webinars to Help Prepare and Apply for Drought Relief

1) Preparing to Apply for Drought Relief: Tuesday, June 14, from noon-12:30 p.m. There will be a 20-minute presentation along with a question-and-answer time to cover the preparations farmers should make right away to be ready to apply.

2) How to Apply for Drought Relief: Wednesday, June 22, from noon-1:15 p.m.. The webinar will discuss the kinds of expenses the drought relief will cover, and walk through an example of the application process. There will be staff from MDA there to answer questions as well.
Once the drought portal is open, you can e-mail questions to drought@state.mn.us or call 651-201-6500.

Spring 2022 Storms: Zero-Interest Disaster Loans

Due to this spring’s storms, the Rural Finance Authority Board has declared a number of counties in Minnesota as being in a state of emergency and people there will be able to apply for zero-interest loans for expenses related to physical property damage and/or death of livestock taking place due to heavy rains and high winds. If you had damages to your barns, silos, equipment, etc., or loss of livestock, and live in the affected counties, you are eligible to apply for these loans. To see what counties are eligible and for more details on applying for these loans, click here.

Please let LSP’s Laura Schreiber know if you have any questions and she will try to be a resource as much as possible. Once the drought portal is open, you can e-mail questions to drought@state.mn.us or call 651-201-6500.

Category: Action Alerts
Tags: drought relief • Minnesota Legislature • storm damage

Contact

Laura Schreiber, LSP policy organizer, e-mail, 612-207-4693

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Upcoming Events

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June 2023

Saturday June 3

1:15 pm – 2:15 pm
Land Access & Leasing Options
Saturday June 3
1:15 pm – 2:15 pm
Land Access & Leasing Options

On Saturday, June 3, Wisconsin Farmers Unions will be holding a farm visit at Baldur Farm (N7659 950th St., River Falls,WI 54022) for landowners and renters looking to lease to the next generation of farmers.

Joyce Monari, a native of Kenya, has been growing two types of chinsaga, a type of green familiar to her people, for several years on Baldur Farm. She will show participants her garden, talk about her crops, and discuss the difficulty of finding land.

Juliet Tomkins and Prescott Bergh have rented land to a variety of farmers over the years, from beginning CSA growers to livestock operators. They will talk about their experiences, which have led to the contract they now use to ensure understanding between themselves and their renters before problems arise.

Light snacks and refreshments provided after the talks. Maureen and Rich, the farmers at Baldur Farm, will be on-hand to answer questions about their draft horses. Attendees are welcome to walk the farm trails.

For more information, contact the Farmers Union’s Maureen Ash at maureen7ash@gmail.com.

3:00 pm – 5:00 pm
Screening of Stewards of the Land / Serán las dueñas de la tierra in Northfield
Saturday June 3
3:00 pm – 5:00 pm
Screening of Stewards of the Land / Serán las dueñas de la tierra in Northfield

Stewards of the Land/Serán las dueñas de la tierrais a feature documentary about Stephanie, Ian, and Alfredo, three young landless ecological farmers in Puerto Rico striving to produce healthy food for local consumption.

In this economically depressed U.S. territory, producing food locally is urgent. The archipelago sits on the path of powerful hurricanes, an increasing threat as the climate crisis worsens. Puerto Rico is highly dependent on food imports and a third of its population lives food insecurity.

The story begins when the protagonists arrive for the first time on the public lands they rent. The farms have been abandoned for decades and lack the most basic infrastructure to get started. The story follows the protagonists as they struggle to get the farms running before and after powerful hurricanes devastate the archipelago. The documentary shows the protagonists’ grit as they attempt to carve a living without land ownership or capital.

There are two opportunities to participate:

  1. Clickhereto RSVP to the Northfield event on Saturday, June 3.
  2. Clickhereto RSVP to the Minneapolis event on Sunday, June 4; co-hosted with partner organization, Copal.Haz clic aquí para español.

Sunday June 4

3:00 pm – 5:00 pm
Screening of Stewards of the Land / Serán las dueñas de la tierra in Minneapolis
Sunday June 4
3:00 pm – 5:00 pm
Screening of Stewards of the Land / Serán las dueñas de la tierra in Minneapolis

Stewards of the Land/Serán las dueñas de la tierrais a feature documentary about Stephanie, Ian, and Alfredo, three young landless ecological farmers in Puerto Rico striving to produce healthy food for local consumption.

In this economically depressed U.S. territory, producing food locally is urgent. The archipelago sits on the path of powerful hurricanes, an increasing threat as the climate crisis worsens. Puerto Rico is highly dependent on food imports and a third of its population lives food insecurity.

The story begins when the protagonists arrive for the first time on the public lands they rent. The farms have been abandoned for decades and lack the most basic infrastructure to get started. The story follows the protagonists as they struggle to get the farms running before and after powerful hurricanes devastate the archipelago. The documentary shows the protagonists’ grit as they attempt to carve a living without land ownership or capital.

There are two opportunities to participate:

  1. Clickhereto RSVP to the Northfield event on Saturday, June 3.
  2. Clickhereto RSVP to the Minneapolis event on Sunday, June 4; co-hosted with partner organization, Copal.Haz clic aquí para español.

Tuesday June 6

11:00 am – 12:00 pm
Forever Green Winter Barley Webinar
Tuesday June 6
11:00 am – 12:00 pm
Forever Green Winter Barley Webinar

The Environmental & Economic Clusters of Opportunity (EECO) grant provides an ecosystem services payment as well as risk management payments to growers enrolled in the program for winter barley, hybrid winter rye, winter camelina, and Kernza. Join us for an introductory webinar series on these four crops where we pair University researchers and Extension professionals with farmers who have trialed these crops on-farm. The webinar on June 6 will be on winter barley and will feature Jochum Wiersma (UMN Extension small grains agronomist) and Kurt Kimber (farmer, Hampton, Minn.).

To sign-up for the June 6 webinar on winter barley, click here. These presentations will be recorded for future viewing if you’re not able to make it.

Wednesday June 7

11:00 am – 12:00 pm
Forever Green Webinar on Winter Camelina
Wednesday June 7
11:00 am – 12:00 pm
Forever Green Webinar on Winter Camelina

The Environmental & Economic Clusters of Opportunity (EECO) grant provides an ecosystem services payment as well as risk management payments to growers enrolled in the program for winter barley, hybrid winter rye, winter camelina, and Kernza. Join us for an introductory webinar series on these four crops where we pair University researchers and Extension professionals with farmers who have trialed these crops on-farm. On June 7, there will be a webinar on winter camelina. Presenters include Matthew Ott (UMN post doc researcher, camelina genetics) and Anne Schwagerl (farmer, Browns Valley, Minn.).

To sign-up for the June 7 webinar on winter camelina, click here. These presentations will be recorded for future viewing if you’re not able to make it.

View Full Calendar

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