Maire Ullrich, CCE Orange County and Elizabeth Higgins, CCE ENYCH

If you have had flooding in your fields or crop damage due to storms here are some guidelines to follow.

First Steps – Document the Damage

If you have flood/storm damage to your crops it is important that you remember to take pictures and document everything.  If you have crop insurance or are enrolled in FSA-NAP, your first step should be to contact your insurance company or USDA FSA as soon as possible to notify them of an event that could trigger a claim. 

If your losses are significant, it is also a good idea to contact your town supervisor and USDA FSA (if you do not have NAP) to let them know about the crop damage you suffered. It is possible that if the losses in a region are high enough a state of emergency could be declared, so your information is important to help document the extent of the damage.  

If a state of emergency is declared, there could be disaster funds allocated for crop losses. Even if you didn’t pay for insurance, it is important to document your losses so that you could be eligible for disaster assistance. It has happened in the past that there have been payments for uninsured farms when there’s been a disaster.

After the Water Goes Down Can I Sell or Use My Flooded Crops?

Flooding that is due to field saturation – where the water falls from the sky and eventually has nowhere to go and rises in the field – this is still safe to eat (or sell in your case).

Fields that have been flooded by surface bodies of water – a creek, river or other “backed-up” on to your property is not safe to eat or sell. There is a lot of awful stuff in floodwaters from surface bodies of water such as sewage and contaminants like oil, fuel and heavy metals. If you need a letter from CCE explain why you abandoned an edible crop because it surface-flooded, let us know.  If it is early enough in the season that the edible part of the plant is not on the plant yet – like sweet corn that has yet to make an ear or if the flooding was nowhere near the edible part of the crop (like an orchard) then you can probably still sell the crop.  If in doubt, contact CCE and we will find out for you.

Fields that people don’t eat the crop like field corn, hay, sunflowers, and some soy etc. are your “call” especially since its mostly your own animals who will be eating it. 

Hoping ag damage is minimal or non-existent for all of you….