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Jerry Preece Jr. jumps over a damaged delivery canal at his farm west of El Centro on Wednesday. (JOSELITO VILLERO PHOTO / December 13, 2012) |
Jerry Preece Jr. clearly remembers this summer’s floods that wiped out 600 acres of crops. “It came right in on us full-bore,” he said, pointing at an area where the waters swept over the top of the Westside Main Canal and flooded Preece’s alfalfa seed fields and washed out ditches.
Located directly in the flood plain, Preece’s operation was, arguably, the hardest hit. He elaborated about the effects of the storms as he drove along the dirt roads that run next to his fields.
“Water was running uphill that day,” he said, gesturing at a canal that runs under Highway 8. “This drain was so backed up it ran uphill.”
Flood waters destroyed the irrigation canal understructures.
“This ditch is totally destroyed,” Preece said, indicating where the flood washed out the “pad” that supports the ditch’s concrete lining.
Between damage to crops and infrastructure, Preece estimates his business lost $1.5 million. Not one of the nine fields that were damaged by the floods has been put back into production. Debris needs to be cleared. Ground needs to be leveled. Irrigation canals need to be repaired.
Financial assistance for the repair and rehabilitation of farmland damaged by this summer’s floods was recently approved. The Emergency Conservation Program, which will be administered by the Imperial County Farm Service Agency, provides assistance of up to 75 percent of the cost of approved repairs.
“It is designed to help farming operations rehabilitate cropland, to bring it back into production,” said Rosa Singh, executive director of the Imperial County FSA.
Farmers may receive assistance of up to 75 percent of the cost of approved repairs, such as the removal of debris, land-leveling and the restoration of infrastructure such as concrete field ditches. Those who have limited resources may qualify for assistance of up to 90 percent of the cost of repairs. Assistance, however, is limited to $200,000 per legal entity, per disaster. Applications for ECP assistance are being accepted through Jan. 29 by the Imperial County FSA. It is not clear, however, when funds will be available.
“As of today’s date, it is not funded,” Singh said. The fact that Congress has not approved a new Farm Bill may be a reason, she speculated. Disaster programs are usually written into farm bills, mechanisms through which the federal government addresses agricultural issues. The most recent Farm Bill expired Sept. 30. It is not clear when a new Farm Bill will be signed into law or what provisions will be included in it.
But, as it stands, the financial assistance program has been approved, and the Imperial County FSA is taking applications.
“They know I need the money,” Singh said. “I’ve put in the request for funding.”
Preece’s application is already in, he said. He applied “for the max amount” of the ECP. If approved, he said, it still “won’t replace all the damage to ditches.”
Staff Writer Antoine Abou-Diwan can be reached at 760-337-3454 or aabou-diwan@ivpressonline.com
For more information
Farmers and ranchers seeking information about the Emergency Conservation Program can contact the Imperial County Farm Service Agency at 760-352-3531 or www.fsa.usda.gov
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