Dear Friends and Neighbors,
Last week I mentioned the collapse of a dairy barn on a family farm near Chatfield. Since this news, I’ve heard of somewhere between 20-25 additional dairy barns in Minnesota (with many in our area) that have collapsed as a result of the heavy snowfall we’ve received recently. In light of these losses, I wanted to send out information on various resources offered by the state and federal governments that can help provide aid and relief to farmers after these hardships. If you know a farmer affected by a barn collapse, I’d encourage you to please pass this email and these resources along to them.
Resources
Link to list of Rural Finance Authority (RFA) loans along with a link specifically for the Disaster Recovery Loan Program:
https://www.mda.state.mn.us/financebudget/agfinance
https://www.mda.state.mn.us/disasterloan
Information on the Livestock Indemnity Program:
List of programs that USDA FSA offers, including Disaster Protection and Recovery resources:
https://www.fsa.usda.gov/news-room/fact-sheets/index
Guide on roof collapse prevention: https://extension.umn.edu/farm-safety/preventing-ag-building-roof-collapses-snow-and-ice?fbclid=IwAR0aRWsHsBhAn1JMHidOG4LjwbJDxJNKdbjhLQz6VEPo8Xo-Kaq7Dmq0llQ
If you or someone you know were affected by any of these recent accidents, I hope these links are helpful. Please contact me if you have any further questions regarding available resources for farmers.
Sincerely,
Nels