Agriculture and Forestry Commissioner Mike Strain, D.V.M., said farmers and ranchers in 51 Louisiana parishes (Natchitoches included) could be eligible for recovery grant money as a result of the flood events in March and August of 2016.

An informational meeting will be held Tuesday, July 25 at 1 pm at the Natchitoches Municipal Building, located at 560 Second Street in Natchitoches. This meeting and others held across the state will assist producers with the application process. Agricultural producers must meet certain requirements for eligibility.

This $10 million grant is funded through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (as Community Development Block Disaster Recovery Program {CDBG}grant funds). The Office of Community Development, Disaster Recovery Unit, receives the CDBG disaster recovery grant funds from HUD. The Louisiana Department of Agriculture of Forestry will then administer the program. The funding is part of the $1.6 billion congressional appropriation for Restore Louisiana.

Producers with pre-storm annual gross farm revenue of $25,000 in the years 2014, 2015 or 2016 are eligible to apply.

Crop loss must amount to a minimum of $10,000 as calculated by the crop loss calculator. Eligible crops include: cotton, corn, crawfish, grain sorghum, rice, hay, soybeans, sweet potatoes, sugarcane, strawberries, wheat and cattle.

Eligible parishes include: Acadia, Allen, Ascension, Avoyelles, Beauregard, Bienville, Bossier, Caddo, Calcasieu, Caldwell, Catahoula, Claiborne, DeSoto, East Baton Rouge, East Carroll, East Feliciana, Evangeline, Franklin, Grant, Iberia, Iberville, Jackson, Jefferson Davis, Lafayette, LaSalle, Lincoln, Livingston, Madison, Morehouse, Natchitoches, Ouachita, Point Coupee, Rapides, Red River, Richland, Sabine, St. Helena, St. James, St. Landry, St. Martin, St. Tammany, Tangipahoa, Union, Vermilion, Vernon, Washington, Webster, West Baton Rouge, West Carroll, West Feliciana and Winn.

2016 LFRGP Guidelines FINAL 7.10.17

2016 LFRGP Application FINAL 7.11.17