Natural disasters, such as droughts, floods, hurricanes, and other adverse weather events, pose risks to agricultural producers. The federal government has played an active role in mitigating those risks through a variety of disaster assistance programs. USDA provides a basic safety net of permanently authorized and regularly funded programs to help agricultural producers recover financially from losses resulting from natural disasters. Congress has historically supplemented these ongoing programs in an ad hoc manner by providing one-time payments through disaster assistance programs that compensate producers for disaster- related crop and livestock losses they sustained. The aquaculture and nursery industries are two growing agricultural industries covered by federal disaster assistance. The Federal Crop Insurance Program and the Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP) offer agricultural producers protection against crop losses if they enroll in the programs prior to experiencing a loss. Federal crop insurance, administered by USDA’s Risk Management Agency (RMA), protects participating farmers against financial losses because of production risks—droughts, floods, and other natural disasters—as well as other risks. Under the Federal Crop Insurance Program, farmers can choose various levels and types of insurance protection: they can insure against losses caused by poor crop yields, declines in crop prices, or both, for each insurable crop they produce. These crops include major crops—such as corn, cotton, soybeans, and wheat, which accounted for three-quarters of the acres enrolled in the program in 2011—as well as nursery crops and certain fruits and vegetables. RMA is also conducting pilot aquaculture crop insurance projects for clams and oysters. For crops for which federal crop insurance is not available, farmers can obtain coverage through FSA’s NAP, which provides cash payments to producers when natural disasters are responsible for low crop yields or loss of value or prevent planting from occurring. NAP is limited by statute to include crops for which the catastrophic risk protection level of crop insurance is not available and that are grown for food and fiber, and other crops such as floriculture, ornamental nursery, Christmas tree crops, turfgrass sod, and aquaculture. Disaster declarations are required to trigger some federal disaster assistance programs. For agricultural disaster assistance programs, disaster declarations can be made by the President, the Secretary of Agriculture, or the SBA Administrator. The Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act authorizes the President to issue major disaster or emergency declarations in response to catastrophes in the United States that overwhelm state and local governments. Such declarations result in the distribution of a wide range of federal aid to individuals and families, certain nonprofit organizations, and public agencies (see app. II). The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), in the Department of Homeland Security, is responsible for coordinating federal response and recovery efforts under presidential disaster declarations. FEMA works with other federal, state, and local agencies to assist individuals after major disasters, and volunteer organizations, such as the American Red Cross, also participate in these efforts.disaster recovery centers where individuals can meet with representatives from federal agencies, including FSA and SBA; obtain information about the recovery process; and register for federal disaster assistance. In addition to crop insurance and NAP, which are purchased before a disaster, FSA provides eight disaster assistance programs that become available to producers after a natural disaster. Title XV of the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (the 2008 farm bill) established five disaster assistance programs that provide assistance to agricultural producers who suffer crop and livestock losses incurred as a result of a disaster, adverse weather, or other environmental condition that occurred on or before September 30, 2011. Agricultural producers may apply for this assistance following a natural disaster. USDA’s FSA administers these programs and funds them through the Agricultural Disaster Relief Trust Fund providing approximately $3.6 billion in assistance through the end of calendar year 2011 to agricultural producers of all sizes. The five programs are the following: The Supplemental Revenue Assistance Payments Program (SURE) provides cash assistance for agricultural producers with crop production losses or crop quality losses. The Tree Assistance Program (TAP) provides partial cost reimbursements to orchard and nursery producers for replanting or rehabilitating lost or damaged trees, bushes, or vines. The Livestock Indemnity Program provides cash assistance to producers for livestock deaths. The Livestock Forage Disaster Program provides cash assistance to livestock producers when their livestock are prevented from grazing due to drought or fire on federally managed land. The Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees, and Farm- raised Fish Program (ELAP) provides cash assistance to eligible producers who have losses that are not covered under the other 2008 farm bill programs due to adverse weather and disease, among other things. FSA also administers three other disaster assistance programs that producers can apply for following a disaster. These programs are generally funded through annual appropriations and are as follows: The Emergency Forest Restoration Program, which also was created in the 2008 farm bill, provides payments to eligible owners of nonindustrial private forestland to carry out emergency measures to restore land damaged by a natural disaster. This program was implemented in 2010 to cover disasters starting in January 2010. It has provided $2 million from fiscal years 2010 through 2011. The Emergency Conservation Program provides funding and technical assistance for farmers and ranchers who carry out emergency measures to rehabilitate farmland damaged by natural disasters and for carrying out emergency water conservation measures in periods of severe drought. This program provided $345 million from fiscal years 2008 through 2011. The Emergency Loan Program helps agricultural producers recover from production and physical losses. Unlike FSA’s other disaster assistance programs, the Emergency Loan Program is available only to small agricultural producers, which USDA classifies as family-sized farms. FSA obligated $32 million for the Emergency Loan Program in fiscal year 2011. By law, SBA is prohibited from providing disaster loans to most agricultural producers. However, SBA has two loan programs that are relevant to agriculture and provided 103 loans totaling about $15 million in disaster loans to eligible small aquaculture producers, nursery producers affected by drought, and businesses that support agriculture that reported losses to SBA from October 2007 through the end of 2011. The two programs are the following: The Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program provides working capital loans for disaster-related needs to meet financial obligations that could have been met had the disaster not occurred. Small businesses or private nonprofit organizations are eligible for these loans if they have suffered substantial economic injury—i.e., the business cannot meet its obligations or pay necessary operating expenses—as a direct result of a declared disaster. Aquaculture producers and nursery producers affected by drought may qualify for these loans. The Business Physical Disaster Loan Program provides loans for a business to repair, rehabilitate, or replace damaged property, including real estate, equipment, inventory, and fixtures. Any business, other than an agricultural enterprise, or private, nonprofit organization (large or small) located in a declared disaster area that has incurred damage during the disaster may apply for these loans, including businesses that support agriculture. The 10 USDA and SBA disaster assistance programs have slightly different definitions for aquaculture. USDA defines aquaculture as the production and rearing of aquatic species under controlled or selected environments. SBA uses a definition from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which defines aquaculture as the propagation and rearing of aquatic organisms in controlled or selected aquatic environments for any commercial, recreational or public purpose. A 2012 Congressional Research Service report stated that, until recently and with a few exceptions, U.S. aquaculture has been considered a minor industry. USDA’s 2005 Census of Aquaculture reported that U.S. sales of aquaculture products were approximately $1.1 billion. Aquaculture crops include fish for human consumption, such as catfish, salmon, and trout; crustaceans such as crawfish; mollusks such as oysters and clams; and ornamental fish and baitfish. Fish for human consumption and baitfish are normally grown in freshwater. Crawfish are grown in freshwater, and farm-raised oysters and clams are grown in coastal areas of the United States. Nursery producers grow a variety of trees and plants, such as oak trees, shrubs, and potted plants, with some producers growing hundreds of varieties. USDA has reported that, since the 1970s, the greenhouse and nursery industry had been growing more rapidly than all other agricultural commodities, in terms of cash receipts. Cash receipts for the top five greenhouse and nursery producing states were nearly $10 billion in 2006. The 10 FSA and SBA disaster assistance programs we identified that small agricultural producers and businesses that support agriculture can use to recover from natural disasters provide assistance that can cover most losses. FSA provides cash assistance to agricultural producers, including small producers, for crop and livestock losses and damages to land. FSA also provides disaster loans to these producers to cover production losses, while SBA provides disaster loans to cover physical damages and economic injury losses to businesses that support agriculture and economic injury to a limited aquaculture sector and for nurseries only when a drought is declared. Together, the FSA and SBA disaster assistance programs are fragmented, but they leave few gaps in the assistance available to most small agricultural producers in the wake of a natural disaster.programs we identified and the types of losses they cover. Three main factors may limit small aquaculture and nursery producers’ participation in the 6 of the 10 disaster assistance programs for which they could be eligible. First, many producers did not apply for the assistance because they were not aware of these programs. Second, some producers did not apply for it because they sought relief through other options, such as other federal grants and private loans. Third, some producers applied but did not qualify because they did not meet certain program requirements.