The House Agriculture Committee on Tuesday advanced an $8.5 billion disaster bill that would cover a wide range of producers’ losses in 2020 and 2021, with somewhat more generous provisions than recent relief programs, reports Agri-Pulse.
The covered losses under the nine-page bill, which was approved on a voice vote, would include damage from the ongoing Western drought; the 2020 derecho in Iowa; the polar vortex that struck Texas in February, and wildfires that tainted California wine grapes with smoke. Losses caused by power outages, such as those that forced Texas milk producers to dump milk, also would be eligible for payments.
The legislation would make it easier for farmers to qualify for drought losses.
Read the full report here.
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