USDA Urges Farmers and Ranchers to Take Action Ahead of the 2026 Hurricane Season

By Lauren Moore, USDA

May 11, 2026

USDA is here to help you prepare for and recover from hurricanes and related tropical weather activity. The 2026 hurricane season begins on June 1, and USDA is asking producers to prepare their operations for potential impacts and explore recovery resources.

Hurricane Preparation

While USDA offers a suite of disaster assistance programs to help you recover, we encourage you to first take precautions to prepare and protect your family and operation:

• Develop an Emergency Plan: Make sure your employees and members of your household know your plan, including meeting points, emergency contact lists, and alternate evacuation routes in case of infrastructure damage.
• Remove Debris and Secure Large Objects: Minimize the presence of equipment, supplies, and debris that may become airborne during high winds or encountered in floodwaters. Clean out culverts, ditches, and other drainage areas, especially before and during peak hurricane season to reduce water damage.
• Document Inventory and Secure Important Records: Documentation is critical for insurance compensation and recovery assistance. We recommend keeping an inventory of farm buildings, vehicles, equipment, and livestock before a disaster occurs.  You’ll likely need thorough records of any damage and losses sustained on your farm as well as documentation of your cleanup and recovery efforts.
• Know Your Insurance Options: Regularly review your insurance policies with your agent to be sure you have adequate coverage, including flood insurance, for your facilities, vehicles, farm buildings, equipment, crops and livestock. Note, there are limitations on how soon insurance coverage will take effect. Generally, insurance policies will not cover damage if the policy was not in place before a disaster.
• Gather Supplies: Have drinking water, canned food, a generator, batteries, a flashlight, and fuel available in case you lose power. Have cash on hand in cases of widespread outages, when credit and debit cards may not work.
• Access Real-time Emergency Information: Download the FEMA app for free on the App Store and Google Play for safety tips on what to do before, during, and after disasters.
• USDA Assistance for Hurricane Recovery. USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA), Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), and Risk Management Agency (RMA) offer a number of options to offset losses and help get you back on your feet. Once you’re safely able to assess your operation, contact your local USDA Service Centerto report losses or ask questions about available programs.
• Disaster Assistance Programs.  FSA offers several disaster programs to help producers recover from crop, livestock and infrastructure losses, including low-interest emergency loans. 
• For livestock producers, FSA’s Livestock Indemnity Program (LIP) and Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees, and Farm-Raised Fish Program (ELAP) reimburse producers for a portion of the value of livestock, poultry and other animal death as a result of certain natural disaster events, like hurricanes, or for loss of grazing acres, feed and forage. LIP is also available to producers who have to sell injured livestock at a reduced rate. For LIP and ELAP, producers will need to provide acceptable documentation of loss or evidence of reduced sales resulting from an eligible adverse event, including a hurricane. More information can be found in the LIP Verifiable and Reliable Documentation and ELAP Verifiable and Reliable Documentation fact sheets.
• The Tree Assistance Program (TAP) provides cost-share assistance to replant or rehabilitate trees, bushes or vines lost during the natural disaster. TAP complements both NAP and crop insurance coverage, which often cover the crop but not the plants or trees.
• The Emergency Conservation Program (ECP) and Emergency Forest Restoration Program(EFRP) provide financial and technical assistance to restore conservation practices like fencing, damaged farmland or nonindustrial private forests. These programs are administered by FSA state and county committees and county offices. Producers should contact their local FSA county office regarding enrollment periods and eligibility.
• FSA also offers a variety of loan options to eligible producers to help meet credit needs. These options include emergency loans, which are triggered by disaster declarations, and offer crucial financial support to help producers recover swiftly and maintain the viability of their operations during and after disaster recovery. FSA loans can replace essential property, purchase inputs like livestock, equipment, feed and seed, or refinance farm-related debts and other needs. For existing FSA loan borrowers, loan servicing options may be available if scheduled payments cannot be made on farm loan debt due to circumstances beyond their control. 
• NRCS provides technical and financial assistance to producers through its Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) to help producers plan and implement conservation practices on land impacted by natural disasters. EQIP can help address immediate needs and provide long-term support to help you recover from natural disasters and conserve environmental resources. The program can assist with restoring livestock infrastructure, emergency animal mortality disposal, and immediate soil erosion protection. 
• Additionally, NRCS offers help to communities through its Emergency Watershed Protection (EWP) Program which provides assistance to landowners and project sponsors following a natural disaster. EWP is designed to help people and conserve natural resources by relieving imminent hazards to life and property caused by floods, fires, windstorms, and other natural occurrences. 
• More information, including a full list of programs, can be found on the farmers.gov Hurricane webpage. 

·       Our Disaster Assistance Discovery Tool, Disaster Assistance at a Glance fact sheet, and Farm Loan Assistance Tool can help you determine program or loan options. Additionally, the FarmRaise educational hub can also help with disaster recovery program decisions. 

·       To report losses or ask questions about available programs, contact your local USDA Service Center.     

Lauren Moore is a public affairs specialist with USDA’s Farm Production and Conservation Business Center.