Before a Disaster

You must have a farm number to apply for FSA disaster assistance programs and crop insurance. Read about how and why to get a farm number here.

Find a list of Georgia AgSouth Farm Credit agents and their contact info here. 

• Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP)

  • Provides financial assistance to producers of non-insurable crops to protect against natural disasters that result in lower yields or crop losses or prevent crop planting 

  • Eligible producers: Average adjusted gross income cannot exceed $900,000

  • Eligible crops: Non-insurable crops, including crops grown for food, crops for livestock consumption, crops grown for fiber, and other commodities not eligible for federal crop insurance

  • Eligible causes of loss: Include drought, freeze, hail, excessive moisture, hurricanes, floods, earthquakes, excessive heat, plant disease, or insect infestations

  • Eligible producers can apply for coverage using form CCC-471, “Application for Coverage,” and pay the applicable service fee at the FSA office where their farm records are maintained. When a crop or planting is affected by a natural disaster, producers with NAP must notify their FSA office and complete form CCC-576, “Notice of Loss and Application for Payment” to receive NAP benefits. 

• Whole-Farm Revenue Protection

  • Provides a risk management safety net for diversified farms, covering all commodities produced on the farm under one policy to protect against revenue losses caused by natural disasters

  • Eligible producers: Farms with up to $17 million in insured revenue, including farms with specialty or organic commodities (both crops and livestock), or those marketing to local, regional, farm-identity preserved, specialty, or direct markets

  • Eligible commodities: All commodities produced on the farm, including crops and livestock 

  • Eligible causes of loss: WFRP provides protection against the loss of insured revenue due to an unavoidable natural cause of loss which occurs during the insurance period 

  • Crop insurance is sold and delivered solely through private crop insurance agents. A list of crop insurance agents is available online at rma.usda.gov/agent-locator

• Micro-Farm Program

  • Provides a risk management safety net for small, diversified farms, covering all commodities produced on the farm under one policy to protect against revenue losses caused by natural disasters

  • Eligible producers: Farms with up to $350,000 in approved revenue ($400,000 if previously enrolled), including farms with specialty or organic commodities (both crops and livestock), or those marketing to local, regional, farm-identity preserved, specialty, or direct markets

  • Eligible commodities: All commodities produced on the farm, including crops and livestock 

  • Eligible causes of loss: Micro Farm provides protection against the loss of insured revenue due to unavoidable natural causes which occur during the insurance period

  • Crop insurance is sold and delivered solely through private crop insurance agents. A list of crop insurance agents is available online at rma.usda.gov/agent-locator

EMERGENCY ALERT: Consider downloading (and having others who live on the farm also download) the FREE Red Cross Emergency App (or another emergency alert app) on your smart phone to be alerted to emergency weather events in time to act. 

EMERGENCY ACTION PLANS: Have emergency action plans for several possible farm emergencies and share them with farm staff and family.

• Farm Emergency Action Plan Template (adapted from Michigan State University College of Agriculture and Natural Resources’ template)

• Farm Emergency Preparedness Plan

• Know--and make known to farm staff and family--all possible evacuation routes on your farm. 

• Create a shelter-in-place plan and kit and provide to all who work and live on the farm. It should include:  

  • Emergency Kit

  • An Emergency Contact List: Include the following contacts on your emergency contact list (this is also included in the above farm emergency action/preparedness plans):  

    • Local Fire/EMS 

    • County Emergency Management 

    • County Cooperative Extension Office 

    • FSA/NRCS Office 

    • Power Company 

    • Veterinarians 

    • Poison Control 

  • The location of backup power sources on the farm and how to use them 

  • First aid supplies 

  • Back-up drinking water and shelf stable foods 

• Have a map of your farm ready that highlights where the utilities, water lines, gates, and livestock areas are. Include a copy as part of your Farm Emergency Action Plan.

• Make an emergency communication plan for farm staff and family. 

• Create a fill in the blank template for notifying customers of delays or product losses.

Consider a water system backup plan, like installing a gravity-fed system and/or storing water. 

Install fire extinguishers in your barn, tool shed, and other farm buildings, and make sure everyone on the farm knows how to use them. 

Power Outage Readiness

• Generator sizing guide

• Create a generator maintenance, operation, and fueling plan.

Checklists for strengthening farm structures:

• Hoop Houses:  

  • Reinforce high tunnels for extreme weather by securing loose plastic, doors, and roll-up sides against high winds.

  • You may consider pulling down or cutting your plastic if the winds are over 80mph in order to save your structure. In other cases of lesser winds, remember to fully close your hoop house to prevent a 'kite' effect.

  • Install swales, drains, or other water diversions to move water away from the tunnel quickly and prevent pooling along sidewalls.

  • During prolonged heat and dry periods, use shade cloth (generally 30%) and fully open roll-up sides and doors to maximize passive airflow and ventilation.

• Cold Storage:

  • Inspect and replace worn-out door seals with high-quality, cold-resistant options (foam and fin seals) to prevent air leaks. 

• Brooders:

  • In windy conditions, use a heat plate or radiant heater for consistent warmth.

  • Secure the brooder with heavy items to prevent wind damage.

  • Keep any added insulation away from heat lamps to prevent fire.

  • Hot water bottles and/or rice-filled socks can be used for immediate, safe heating sources during power outages.

• How to Protect your Pole Barn

• Securing tarps, shade cloth, and tools in high winds:

  • If grommets are too far apart on tarps or shade cloth, use tarp clips/grippers to create new, secure, non-puncture points. 

  • Cover tools with durable, heavy-duty tarps and secure with bungee cords or rope.

• Temporary shelter plans:  

  • Create an animal evacuation/movement plan for the transportation and temporary housing of animals.

  • Keep evacuation equipment (trailers, halters, etc.) in good condition and easily accessible.

• Emergency feed and water storage guidelines: If unable to evacuate, make sure you have extra food and clean drinking water to leave with the animals.

• Never leave animals tied up or restrained outside during an emergency. If possible, open routes of escape for livestock. 

• Animal ID and record-keeping in case of displacement: Keep an inventory of all animals and their location, and make sure they have proper identification such as ear tags, brands, or tattoos.

• How to Keep Your Chickens Safe During Severe Weather

• Preparing for Livestock Emergencies

• Reduce runoff, erosion, and soil degradation while improving water infiltration into the soil by using conservation practices such as riparian buffers, filter strips, grassed waterways, crop rotation, contoured row crop beds, terracing, and windbreaks. 

• Cover crop recommendations for erosion control post-disaster: Plant fast-establishing, deep-rooted cover crops such as winter cereal rye, oats, annual ryegrass, and triticale to stabilize soil, prevent wind/water erosion, and improve infiltration. Planting a mix (e.g., rye with legumes) provides the best protection. 

• Help crops withstand extreme heat by planting heat-resistant or drought-tolerant varieties, applying mulch to lower soil temperature and reduce evaporation, and using drip or low-pressure irrigation systems to deliver water directly to plant roots. Schedule irrigation to be turned on in the early morning and again before sundown to reduce water loss. 

• Use stakes, trellises, cages or fences to protect top-heavy or weak stemmed crops from heavy wind and rain.  

• Row cover management:

  • Use wire or PVC hoops to keep row cover off the plants and weigh it down securely with sandbags, soil, or bricks to withstand wind.   

  • Keep lighter row cover on hand for late spring and summer and heavier row cover on hand for fall and winter. If temps dip under 25 degrees, consider doubling up on heavy row cover.

• Dig small trenches or swales around in-ground crops to divert water away from roots. 

• Apply mulch to prevent soil erosion and excessive water infiltration.

• Install or plant natural windbreaks.

Maintain digital, off-farm copies of key records using cloud storage or a secure external drive and keep files up to date. Store farm records, crop plans, input and supplies receipts, harvest and sales records, equipment inventory, current livestock counts, insurance policies, coverage details, certification documents (ex. Organic, GAP), and other important files in a secure location.