Hawaii & Pacific Basin August 2015 Your Farm Service Agency Online Monthly Newsletter Covering the Latest Topics In this Issue: Typhoon Soudelor Sacks Tree Assistance Program (TAP) is available Saipan & Tinian for qualifying producers of papaya, banana Page 1: and other tropical fruits offering cost share to Typhoon Soudelor clean up and replant. Sacks Saipan & Tinian Livestock Indemnity Program (LIP) helps offset ranchers’ losses of cattle, goats or Page 2: sheep. Reimbursement of Transportation Cost Emergency Livestock, Honey Bee and Farm Payment Program Raised Fish (ELAP) may be available to producers with losses of livestock, honey Deputy Under Secre- bees and farm raised fish. tary Taylor Visits with Maui Service Center Emergency Conservation Program (ECP) Page 3: may be made available to assist producers with the clean-up and restoration of Presidential Disaster Designations Trigger operations, including debris removal and Emergency Loans Typhoon Soudelor on August 2, 2015. fence replacement. Image credit: NASA Terra/MODIS. 2016 NAP Deadline Emergency Loans (EM) can assist qualified September 1, 2015 borrowers with the restoration or Once again our island homes and replacement of essential property; pay all or Conservation Field businesses were hit with devastating part of production costs associated with the Day weather when Typhoon Soudelor made disaster year; pay essential family living Page 4: landfall on Saipan and Tinian in the expenses; reorganize the farming operation; Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana and refinance certain debts, excluding real Reporting Organic Crops Islands August 1-3, 2015. The damages estate. The Emergency Loan Program was were so extensive that within two days a triggered by the Presidential Disaster Interest Rates for Presidential Disaster Declaration was Declaration, and commercial producers will August 2015 issued and federal resources were have until April 5, 2016 to apply for this marshalled to provide relief. program. Guaranteed Loans Dates to Remember Farm Service Agency (FSA) quickly Farm Loan Programs offers a range of low- stepped in to offer its services to assist interest loan programs including microloans Honolulu FSA commercial agricultural producers who to assist producers. Additionally, producers County Office has were negatively impacted by Typhoon with FSA existing loans should contact their Soudelor including the following loan officer once they anticipate having relocated to: programs: problems making their regular payments. Airport Industrial Park at 3375 Koapaka Non-Insured Crop Disaster Assistance For more information about FSA’s programs Street, Suite B-211, (NAP) helps to offset production losses for including what to do in advance of the next Honolulu. Phone: 861- those producers who were signed-up in disaster visit www.fsa.usda.gov/hi or for a 8538. advance for the program. more comprehensive look at USDA disaster assistance visit: www.usda.gov/disaster. USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender. 1 Hawaii State & Pacific Basin Farm Service Agency Office Reimbursement of Transportation Cost 300 Ala Moana Blvd, Rm 5-108 Diane Ley Payment Program Honolulu, HI 96850 State Executive Director Ph: (808) 541-2600 Steve Bazzell Farmers and ranchers residing in Hawaii, Guam, Fax: (855)356-9493 Farm Program Loan Chief American Samoa, Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Hawaii County Farm Service Agency Hilo Office Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Republic of the 154 Waianuenue Ave, Room 219 Lester Ueda Marshall Islands and Republic of Palau, Alaska, Puerto Hilo, HI 96720 County Executive Director Rico and the Virgin Islands can apply to recover a portion Ph: (808)933-8381 x 1 Linda Kow Fax: (855)356-9492 Farm Loan Manager of their transportation expenses through the 2015 Reimbursement Transportation Cost Payment Program Honolulu County Farm Service Agency Office (RTCP). Producers must submit their application to their 3375 Koapaka Street, Suite B-211 Jason Shitanishi Farm Service Agency (FSA) County Office by Honolulu, HI 96819 County Executive Director September 11, 2015. Applicants will have until Ph: (808)861-8538 Melissa Rodriques Fax: (855)356-9490 Farm Loan Manager November 2, 2015 to provide supporting documentation. Kauai County Farm Service Agency Office Payments are calculated based on the costs incurred for 4334 Rice St, Suite 103 Robert Ishikawa transportation of the agricultural commodity or inputs, Lihue, HI 96766 County Executive Director subject to an $8,000 per producer cap per federal fiscal Ph: (808)245-9014 x 2 Melissa Rodriques Fax: (855)356-9495 Farm Loan Manager year. In the event that claims for payments exceed the funds available from the program for a fiscal year, Maui County Farm Service Agency Office payments will be reduced on a pro-rata basis. 77 Hookele St, Suite 201 James Robello Kahului, HI 96732 County Executive Director For more information on the RTCP program, contact your Ph: (808)871-5500 x 2 Richard ‘Buddy’ Nichols Fax: (855)356-9494 Farm Loan Manager FSA County Office or visit the FSA website at www.fsa.usda.gov/pricesupport. Guam-CNMI Farm Service Agency Office 770 East Sunset Blvd. Room 265 Thomas Camacho Barrigada, GU 96913 County Executive Director Ph: (671)472-7568 Fax: (855)356-9491 Doreen Rivera Program Technician CNMI (670)234-0896 American Samoa Farm Service Agency Office Pago Plaza Building, Room 213 Josie Malepeai Lealasola P. O. Box 3661 Agricultural Specialist Pago Pago, AS 96799 Ph: (684)633-1031 x 2 Letisha Gaoā Loan Analyst Fax: (684)633-7614 Office Hours: Monday—Friday from 8:00 am to 4:00 pm Next County Committee Meeting Dates: Hawaii County - October 9 at 8:30 am Honolulu County - August 21 at 3:00 pm Farm and Foreign Agriculture Service Deputy Under Kauai County - September 16 at 8:30 am Secretary Alexis Taylor took a break from Trans- Maui County - August 20 at 8:30 am Pacific Partnership Trade Talks, recently held on Guam County - December 16 at 9:00 am Maui, to have lunch with United States Department of CNMI County - December 16 at 9:00 am Agriculture Hawaii and Pacific Basin staff. From the left are Farm Service Agency (FSA) Farm Loan Ana- Contact the County Office to confirm meeting date and time, as lyst Faith Umetsu, Rural Development Area Specialist budget constraints may limit the County Committee’s ability to Nenita Acob, Deputy Under Secretary Alexis Taylor, meet each month. A list of County Offices, contact numbers and Natural Resources Conservation Service Finance Re- addresses may be found at: source Specialist Kevin Kinvig and FSA State Execu- http://www.fsa.usda.gov/Internet/FSA_File/hi_cof_staff.pdf tive Director Diane Ley. USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender. 2 Presidential Disaster Declarations Conservation Field Trigger Emergency Loans Day Hawaii County, Tinian and Saipan were declared Several dozen landowners primary disasters due respectively to lava flows and and stakeholders with an Typhoon Soudelor. Under these two designations, interest in conserving producers are eligible to apply for low interest Hawaii’s natural resources emergency loans to assist with the recovery from recently participated in the production and physical losses. first Hawaii Conservation Reserve Enhancement Producers have eight months from the date of the Program (CREP) Field declaration to apply for emergency loan assistance. Day at Ahu Lani Sanctuary Farm Service Agency (FSA) will consider each loan on the Hamakua Coast of application on its own merits, taking into account the Hawaii Island. The event extent of losses, security available and repayment as co-hosted by the Farm ability. Producers can borrow up to 100 percent of Service Agency (FSA), John Lindelow - visionary actual production or physical losses, to a maximum Natural Resources and committed landowner amount of $500,000. Conservation Service of Ahu Lani Sanctuary. (NRCS), State of Hawaii For more information about emergency loans, please Division of Forestry and Wildlife (DOFAW) and John contact your local FSA office or visit Lindelow and David DeEsch of Ahu Lani Sanctuary. www.fsa.usda.gov. The very rainy day began inside the Sanctuary’s 2016 NAP Deadline gathering room. There program specialists with FSA, September 1, 2015 NRCS and DOFAW briefed the participants on the goals of CREP which include restoring native, threatened and Producers are reminded to endangered habitat and controlling the spread of apply for 2016 Noninsured invasive species. Crop Disaster Assistance From the landowner’s perspective, John Lindelow Program (NAP) benefits by offered an overview of the challenges and rewards of September 1, 2015. This working through the first CREP contract in the State of deadline applies to value Hawaii. Then everyone went out into the pouring rain loss crops including nursery, floriculture, propagation on a walkabout to see the results of CREP first hand. stock non-ornamental nursery, aquaculture, Christmas David DeEsch led with a look at the nursery operation, trees, ginseng, turf grass sod, mushrooms and other noting the special care and timing required of young crops. The deadline for grazed forage, fruits and Koa tree seedlings for optimal opportunity to thrive vegetables is December 1, 2015. once set out in the tall and aggressive kikuyu grass. The service fee for basic NAP coverage is the lesser of Next it was down the sanctuary road and up a fence line $250 per crop or $750 per producer per administrative to view old Ohia trees that serve as over story which county, not to exceed a total of $1,875 for a producer facilitates the growth of volunteer plants. The volunteers with farming interest in multiple counties. Producers are transplanted along the stream banks and other areas interested in buy-up coverage must pay a premium, in that had been cleared of tall grasses and invasive brush addition to the service fee. The maximum premium will and trees. John and David proved to be a wealth of be $6,563. Minority, beginning or limited resource information, answering questions and pointing out the farmers or ranchers may qualify to have service fees many techniques that were deployed to help ensure the waived and may choose to purchase buy-up coverage success of their CREP project area.