Disaster Assistance

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UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

FARM SERVICE AGENCY FACT SHEET

October 2017

Emergency Conservation Program (ECP)

OVERVIEW

The Emergency Conservation Program (ECP), 

administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture 

(USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA), provides 

emergency funding and technical assistance to 

farmers and ranchers to rehabilitate farmland 

damaged by natural disasters and to implement 

emergency water conservation measures in periods of 

severe drought.

PROGRAM ADMINISTRATION

ECP is administered by FSA state and county 

committees and county offices. Producers should 

inquire with their local FSA county office regarding 

ECP enrollment periods and eligibility.

LAND ELIGIBILITY

FSA county committees determine land eligibility 

based on on-site inspections of damaged land and 

the type and extent of damage. Eligible land includes 

land used for:

• Commercial farming, ranching and orchard 

operations;

• Growing nursery stock and Christmas tree 

plantations;

• Grazing for commercial livestock production; 

and

• Conservation structures; such as, waterways, 

terraces, diversions and windbreaks.

Conservation problems existing before the applicable 

disaster event are ineligible for ECP assistance.

COST-SHARE PAYMENTS

Cost-share payments are:

• Up to 75 percent of the cost to implement 

approved restoration practices;

• Up to 90 percent if limited resource producers; 

and

• Limited to $200,000 per person or legal entity 

per disaster.

ELIGIBLE FARMLAND RESTORATION 

PRACTICES

To rehabilitate farmland, ECP participants may 

implement emergency conservation practices, such 

as:

• Debris removal from farmland (cleanup of 

woody material, sand, rock and trash on cropland 

or pastureland);

• Grading, shaping or leveling land (filling gullies, 

releveling irrigated farmland and incorporating 

sand and silt);

• Restoring fences (livestock cross fences, 

boundary fences, cattle gates or wildlife 

exclusion fence from agricultural land);

• Restoring conservation structures (waterways, 

diversion ditches, buried irrigation mainlines and 

permanently installed ditching system); and

• Providing emergency water during periods of 

severe drought (grazing and confined livestock 

and existing irrigation systems for orchards and 

vineyards).

FOR MORE INFORMATION

This fact sheet is for informational purposes only; 

other eligibility requirements may apply. More 

information on ECP is available at FSA offices, local 

USDA service centers and on FSA’s website at 

http://disaster.fsa.usda.gov. To find your local FSA 

office, visit http://offices.usda.gov. _________________________________________________________________

In accordance with Federal civil rights law and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) civil 

rights regulations and policies, the USDA, its Agencies, offices, and employees, and institutions participating in or administering USDA programs are prohibited from discriminating 

based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, gender identity (including gender expression), sexual orientation, disability, age, marital status, family/parental status, income derived 

from a public assistance program, political beliefs, or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil 

rights activity, in any program or activity conducted or funded by USDA (not all bases apply 

to all programs). Remedies and complaint filing deadlines vary by program or incident.

Persons with disabilities who require alternative means of communication for program information (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, American Sign Language, etc.) should contact the 

responsible Agency or USDA’s TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TTY) or contact 

USDA through the Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-8339. Additionally, program information may be made available in languages other than English.

To file a program discrimination complaint, complete the USDA Program Discrimination 

Complaint Form, AD-3027, found online at http://www.ascr.usda.gov/complaint_filing_cust.

html and at any USDA office or write a letter addressed to USDA and provide in the letter all 

of the information requested in the form. To request a copy of the complaint form, call (866) 

632-9992. Submit your completed form or letter to USDA by:

1) mail: U.S. Department of Agriculture Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights

 1400 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, D.C. 20250-9410;

2) fax: (202) 690-7442; or

3) email: program.intake@usda.gov.

USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender.