USDA seeks loan program input

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Agriculture seeks input on the assessment of environmental impacts on two programs — the Tree Assistance Program and Farm Storage Facility Loan program.

USDA’s Farm Service Agency is accepting comments until Jan. 18 on its draft programmatic environmental assessments.

The TAP environmental assessment includes updates to streamline the program and enable a quick response to natural disasters.

The FSFL environmental assessment recommends continuing the program as currently administered.

The National Environmental Policy Act requires federal agencies to consider the potential effects of major federal actions to both the natural and human environments as part of their planning and decision-making processes.

Draft programmatic environmental assessments help FSA to determine whether program changes are needed and plan the implementation of proposed updates.

Tree Assistance Program

TAP helps cover the cost of replanting or rehabilitating eligible trees, bushes and vines that produce annual crops that have been damaged or destroyed by natural disasters.

This program is crucial for helping producers recover from adverse natural disaster events and ensuring the long-term viability of their agricultural operations.

The proposed program implementation update would include additional management tools and screening criteria that allow FSA to respond more quickly and effectively to time-sensitive natural disasters, including plant diseases.

Farm Storage Facility Loan Program

FSFL improves nationwide on-farm storage capacity for upgrading and building farm storage facilities for eligible commodities.

The recommendation to continue the program as currently administered is based on a need to improve the ability of agricultural producers to preserve harvested crops, reduce post-harvest losses and improve marketing and sales opportunities.

More Information

Both draft programmatic environmental assessments may be reviewed on the FSA current environmental documents page at https://tinyurl.com/Environmental-Documents.

Written comments regarding the TAP and FSFL programs can be emailed to SM.FPAC.FBC.ENV@usda.gov until Jan. 18.

For detailed program information, view FSA’s TAP and FSFL program fact sheets at, https://tinyurl.com/TAP-Program and https://tinyurl.com/FSFL-Program, respectively.