News Release

USDA Reopens Emergency Conservation Assistance for Connecticut Producers Impacted by 2023 Drought, 2024 Floods

Application Deadline July 17

Tolland, Conn., May 18, 2026 - The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA) in Connecticut today announced the agency is reopening the Emergency Conservation Program (ECP) to address damages from 2023 drought and 2024 floods. ECP provides cost-share and technical assistance to producers to restore farmland to pre-disaster conditions following a qualifying natural disaster. ECP signup begins on May 18, 2026, and ends on July 17, 2026.

"Connecticut producers have faced incredibly difficult conditions from the 2023 drought and the devastating floods in 2024, and USDA is committed to helping them recover," said Robert Sullivan, FSA State Executive Director for Connecticut. "By reopening the Emergency Conservation Program signup, we are providing another important opportunity for agricultural producers to access the recovery assistance they may need to restore their land, protect their operations and continue producing."

ECP 2023 (Drought)

FSA is reopening ECP to address severe drought damage in 2023 in the Southeast Council of Government (COG). Agricultural producers who experienced water issues, specifically with insufficient supply to provide water to confined livestock including deepening wells or irrigation for orchards and vineyards, may be eligible for assistance under ECP administered by the Southeast COG FSA. Expenses for piping, pumps and storage tanks for new wells may also be eligible.

Water hauling costs are not an ECP reimbursable expense. ECP funding also cannot be used to install new wells for vegetable or other short-term crops and cannot be used to reimburse for wells that do not produce sufficient water or to frack existing wells.

ECP 2024 (Flood)

FSA is also reopening for the ECP signup to address 2024 severe storm and flood damage experienced in 2024 in the South Central, Northwest Hills, Naugatuck Valley, Greater Bridgeport, and West COG.

For land to be eligible, the natural disaster must create new conservation problems that, if untreated, would:

• be so costly to rehabilitate that federal assistance is or will be needed to return the land to productive agricultural use,

• is unusual and is not the type that would recur frequently in the same area,

• affect the productive capacity of the farmland, or

• impair or endanger the land.

ECP Cost-Share Assistance

ECP cost-share assistance can provide advance payments for up to 25% of the total allowable cost for all ECP practices before the restoration is carried out. The advance payment must be spent within 60 days. To ensure eligibility for ECP cost-share payment, check with FSA before beginning work.

If you qualify for ECP assistance for 2023 or 2024 disasters, you may receive cost-share levels not to exceed 75% of the eligible cost of restoration measures. Per statute, eligible socially disadvantaged and beginning farmers and ranchers can receive up to 90% of the eligible cost of restoration. No one is eligible for more than $500,000 in cost share assistance per natural disaster event.

Eligibility and Environmental Requirements

Producers with damage from qualifying natural disaster events must apply for ECP assistance before beginning reconstructive work. FSA's environmental compliance review process is required to be completed before any actions are taken. A waiver can be requested for necessary activities that are taken as emergency action to prevent further loss. Producers who apply after reconstructive work has been completed are at risk of not qualifying for ECP.

To be eligible for assistance, ECP approved practices must not be started until all the following are met:

• an application for cost-share assistance has been filed,

• the local FSA county committee (COC) or its representative has conducted an onsite inspection of the damaged area, and

• the agency responsible for technical assistance, such as the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), has made a needs determination, which may include cubic yards of earthmoving, etc., required for rehabilitation.

Producers who lease federally owned or managed lands, including tribal trust land, as well as state land, are eligible to participate in ECP. Conservation concerns present on the land prior to the qualifying natural disaster event are not eligible for ECP assistance.

FSA county committees will evaluate applications based on an on-site inspection of the damaged land, taking into consideration the type and extent of the damage. An on-site inspection does not guarantee that cost-share funding will be provided.

More Information

To learn more about ECP, producers can contact your local FSA office fsa.usda.gov/state-offices. For more detailed information about COG boundaries, please visit the Connecticut Geodata Portal.

FSA helps America's farmers, ranchers and forest landowners invest in, improve, protect and expand their agricultural operations through the delivery of agricultural programs for all Americans. FSA implements agricultural policy, administers credit and loan programs, and manages conservation, commodity, disaster recovery and marketing programs through a national network of state and county offices and locally elected county committees. For more information, visit fsa.usda.gov.

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