Louisiana Farmers, Ranchers Awarded Disaster Recovery Grants

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More than 900 Louisiana farmers and ranchers will receive disaster grants to help them recover from the March and August 2016 floods.

Louisiana’s agriculture department says the average grant is $9,905, and the maximum award is $12,185. Of more than 1,000 applicants, 961 farmers and ranchers in 51 parishes were deemed eligible for the aid.

The program is paid with $10 million in federal aid, from a $1.7 billion block grant given to Louisiana by Congress to help with the devastating floods.

To be eligible for a grant, farmers and ranchers had to demonstrate a certain level of gross revenue before the flooding and a minimum crop loss of at least $10,000. Eligible crops included cotton, corn, crawfish, grain sorghum, rice, hay, soybeans, sweet potatoes, sugarcane, strawberries, wheat and cattle.