WASHINGTON — The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) on Oct. 30 said it will issue more than $235 million in payments to agricultural producers affected by recent natural disasters.

The payments will include $143 million in crop insurance indemnities for Florida producers affected by Hurricane Milton, which made landfall near Sarasota, Fla., on Oct. 9 and did extensive damage to the state’s agricultural sector. Another $92 million will go to livestock producers nationwide who suffered losses from drought and wildfires in 2022.

“Florida farmers, livestock producers and forest landowners have been hit hard by hurricanes this year, and we’re continuing our efforts to help producers recover following hurricanes like Milton,” Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said. “We’ve used a number of flexibilities following hurricanes Debby and Helene, and we’re extending those to producers impacted by Hurricane Milton.”

The hurricane-related payments are for producers who have federal crop insurance coverage through the Hurricane Insurance Protection-Wind Index (HIP-WI) and the Tropical Storm (TS) option. The HIP-WI was introduced in 2020 and later expanded with the TS option. Eligible producers don’t need to file claims to receive payments, which will be issued through their Approved Insurance Providers within 30 days.

So far in 2024, approximately $776 million in payments have been issued under HIP-WI. More than $233 million were issued for Hurricane Helene, which made landfall on Florida’s Big Bend in late September before causing widespread death and destruction across much of the Southeast. More than $214 million in payments were issued for Hurricane Debby, $128 million for Hurricane Francine and $58 million for Hurricane Beryl, all earlier this year.

The $92 million in payments to livestock producers, meanwhile, follow more than $465 million already issued in September 2023 for qualifying losses from drought and wildfires in 2022.

Farmers in Florida suffered $1.5 billion to $2.5 billion in crop and infrastructure losses to Hurricane Milton, according to the state’s Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. The Category 3 storm’s damaging path crossed some of Florida’s most productive agricultural regions for crops including avocados, citrus, corn, cotton, peanuts, pecans, soybeans and sugar cane.

Cotton, peanut and rice crops experienced catastrophic to minor damage in 51 Florida counties affected by the storm, the department reported earlier this month. The state’s citrus industry suffered significant production losses, mostly from fruit drop, damage to branches and heavy precipitation and flooding that is expected to lead to flood-caused tree mortality in the future. Non-citrus fruits and tree nuts — including strawberries, blueberries and tropical fruits — also suffered significant damage.

Dairy and cattle interests in eight Florida counties experienced major disruptions and impacts from power outages, milking disruptions and infrastructure issues, the state reported.

In terms of land mass affected, 4.2 million acres devoted to animals and animal products suffered storm damage and disruptions — 965,085 acres of field and row crops; 323,535 acres of citrus; and 201,306 acres of vegetables, melons and potatoes.