Maryland Urges Hurricane Preparedness Plans to Livestock; Offers Crop Insurance Reminders for Farmers

ANNAPOLIS, MD – With Hurricane Joaquin’s approach, it is important for the agricultural community to include livestock – including horses – in your disaster preparedness plans.  Farmers with potential crop losses are urged to notify their crop insurance agency immediately.

FARM PREPAREDNESS

Anyone in the agricultural community who needs assistance with livestock, including horses, should contact their local emergency operation center. For a list of local emergency management offices, see: http://mema.maryland.gov/Pages/LocalEOC.aspx

MDA recommends the following for farmers and livestock owners to prepare for a hurricane:

• Move all poultry and livestock to high ground and shelter them in securely battened barns, houses, or tightly fenced areas.

• If you evacuate and take your horses with you, take all immunization and health records, your emergency kit and sufficient hay and water for a minimum 48 hour period. Call ahead, to make sure that your emergency location is still available.
• Cover and secure all water, food, and medical supplies for poultry and livestock.
• Pump and collect adequate supplies of drinking water in case of electrical failures.
• Top off all gasoline, propane, and other fuel tanks and check operations of all portable generators.
• Remove or secure all loose objects that could be moved by high winds.
• Board all glass windows and other similar items that could break from high winds or from objects being blown against them.
• Ensure that all animal holding areas are as clean and sanitary as possible.
• Have available portable radios, extra batteries, flashlights, and candles.
• Follow instructions and advice given by emergency officials.
• Notify MDA through MEMA if any agricultural assistance is needed before, during, or after the storm, including injured animals in need of veterinary assistance or dead animals that require disposal.

For additional disaster preparedness tips for horse owners, visit http://mda.maryland.gov/horseboard/Pages/emergency_info.aspx.

CROP INSURANCE

Maryland Department of Agriculture (MDA) reminds farmers to stay in close contact with their crop insurance agent should Hurricane Joaquin damage any of their unharvested corn or soybeans. In Maryland, approximately 56 percent of corn acres are not yet harvested and soybean harvest has not yet started, according to the most recent National Agricultural Statistics Service Crop Progress Report.

Farmers are responsible for notifying their agent within 72 hours of discovering crop damage, continuing to care for the crop as normal and obtaining permission from the insurance company before destroying any crops. Farmers who are unable to take corn or soybean crops to harvest should contact their insurance company before taking action. In times of loss, a crop insurance agent should be the first contact.

Crop insurance is a public-private partnership, with oversight and funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Risk Management Agency (RMA). MDA works with RMA to provide Maryland farmers with up to date information on crop insurance. In Maryland more than 4,900 crop insurance policies insuring over 930,000 acres are in effect this crop year.

For more information about disaster planning, contact the Maryland Emergency Management Agency at 1-877-MEMA-USA or log on to www.mema.maryland.gov.

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