01/30/08 Several disaster programs underway

Washington Ag January 30, 2008 It is hard to keep track of all the various agricultural disaster programs currently working or in the works, because of changes made along the way. One change Congress made in December was extending the crop disaster, livestock compensation and livestock indemnity programs to cover all of 2007's losses. That could prove to be particularly beneficial to western Washington producers who suffered losses in December floods. John Johnson with the Agriculture Department's Farm Service Agency says many farmers had already signed up and gotten paid in those programs for 2005 or 2006 losses. Now 2007 has been added but you can only get paid for one of the three years. Johnson: "And so if producers have already been in to our county offices and signed up for 2006. And now they say now that 2007 is covered I really had more losses in that year. They can come back into the county office and modify their application and if they have already been paid for the 2006 lose and they are owed another $100 now under 2007, then we will be able to issue that additional payment to them." Still to come from USDA is a quality loss program. Johnson says sign up for that should be later this spring. I'm Bob Hoff.