ST PAUL, Minn. — The Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) says it will be mailing checks to livestock farmers and specialty crop producers who applied to the 2021 Agricultural Drought Relief Program (ADRoP).
Around 2,922 of 3,000 applications to the program were approved, and checks will be mailed out to those individuals this week. The total amount came out to be, "$18.9 million in eligible requests," according to a press release.
Farms in all Minnesota counties, except Goodhue, Rice, Wabasha, and Winona counties, are eligible for funding. The MDA says the checks will be prorated, and the maximum payment a farmer can receive is $3,143.
“We know this won’t make people whole from the extra costs they had last year,” said Minnesota Agriculture Commissioner Thom Petersen. “But it should help people pay a few bills and that’s important this time of year.”
Eligible expenses that the checks can be used for include water handling equipment, irrigation equipment, livestock transportation, cover crop, pasture, or forage replanting, fencing, and others. Expenses incurred after Jun 1, 2021, and before May 23, 2022, are eligible for funding.
Peterson says checks for the 2021 ADRoP are "now being process and mailed as quickly as possible."
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