The U.S. Department of Agriculture Farm Service Agency announced that Point Coupee County is accepting applications for the Emergency Conservation Program to address damage from a severe storm on September 7, 2026.
ECP provides cost-share and technical assistance to producers to restore farmland to pre-disaster conditions. ECP sign-up will begin on November 9, 2026, and end on December 9, 2026.
Approved ECP practices include EC-1 Removing Debris from Farmland and EC-3 Replacing or Restoring Permanent Fence.
Approved ECP applicants can receive up to 75% of the cost of the approved restoration activity, with a maximum cost share of $500,000 per natural disaster event.
ECP cost share is authorized to provide reimbursement of costs up to 75% of the total cost of rehabilitating the land, including the availability of advance payments for up to 25% of the total allowable cost for all ECP practices before the restoration is carried out, an option that was previously only available for fence repair or replacement.
The cost-share payment must be spent within 60 days, and it allows producers who lease federally owned or managed lands, including tribal trust land, as well as state land, the opportunity to participate in ECP.
Conservation concerns present on the land before the qualifying natural disaster event are not eligible for ECP assistance.