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TIMELY TOPICS
Between dry conditions that plagued Rockbridge in the fall of 2023 and the summer of 2024 to the n e a r- mi s s hurricane that has devastated our neighbors to the southwest, recent months have been another lesson in how quickly circumstances can change and extreme weather timed with critical points in the growing season can result in substantial losses of farm income.
The Rockbridge Office of Virginia Cooperative Extension and the USDA Farm Service Agency will hold an informational meeting on insurance products and disaster protections for drought and poor hay crops for the 2025 growing season. The meeting will be held Tuesday, Oct. 22, in the second-floor conference room of the Rockbridge Administrative Building at 150 South Main Street in Lexington, at 7 p.m. This meeting is free and open to all.
The meeting will cover rainfall insurance available from private crop insurance providers, the USDA Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (often called ‘NAP’), and other strategies that require implementation ahead of the growing season. There are some USDA drought disaster programs that are helpful in time of drought but qualifying for them can be a very frustrating process. Tuesday’s meeting will cover insurance and management tools livestock farmers can put in place in advance of the growing season that can provide coverage independent of government drought designations.
Flood Relief Efforts Continue Many folks in Rockbridge have been active in supporting our neighbors in Southwest Virginia, Tennessee and North Carolina following Hurricane Helene. The Extension agents serving the area of Southwest Virginia impacted by Hurricane Helene are organizing the delivery of hay donations for Oct. 19. There will certainly be a need for hay and other feed after that date and through the winter, but there will be a concerted effort to distribute donated hay in Southwest Virginia this Saturday. There is a need both for hay and hay transport. Even if you do not have hay, there may be a need to provide transport of hay from our region to Southwest Virginia, including pick-up trucks.
The best way to participate is to complete the short form available at this link: https://tinyurl. com/HELPSWVAFARMERS. Here a donor will be able to list in-kind items they have available and if they are able to transport them to Southwest Virginia. Also at this site you will find links for making cash donations specifically to help impacted farm families. Completing the online form is the best way for the people on the ground in the affected areas to plan and organize the safe and efficient delivery of donations intended for farms and farmers.
If you cannot access the donation form, contact Tom Stanley through the Rockbridge Extension office at (540) 463-4734 or by email to [email protected]. Special thanks go to the Rockbridge farmers who jumped into action immediately after the storm and have already made multiple trips to the affected regions with relief supplies.
