Florida Agriculture and Consumer Services Commissioner Charles Bronson announced on November 8 that Florida has been allocated $149,705 in federal funding to implement a Livestock Assistance Grant Program. Florida’s funding was allocated to assist livestock producers in Jackson, Bay, Washington, Holmes, Walton, Okaloosa, Santa Rosa, and Escambia Counties. The grant will assist agricultural producers hit hard by severe drought conditions in the spring and summer of 2006. Commercial farmers and ranchers of beef cattle, dairy cattle, buffalo, goats or sheep are eligible for assistance. Horse farms, however, were not included in the grant program.
To apply for the drought assistance program, producers can stop by the Jackson County Extension Office or the local Farm Service Agency Office and pick up an application. The application is also available on the web to download at the web site links below. All applications will need to be mailed to the Department of Agriculture no later than January 31, 2007. This is a self-certification program, requiring no additional paper work other than the simple, two page application and a signature verifying the accuracy of the information. Producers should take advantage of this opportunity to get a little help offsetting the costs of a hard year.
Drought Assistance Application (actual form in pdf format)