Thirty Louisiana Parishes Eligible for New WHIP+ Disaster Program; Signup Starts Today

USDA announced on Monday that signup for the Wildfire and Hurricane Indemnity Program Plus, or WHIP+, will begin Wednesday, Sept. 11. $3 billion in government aid will go to farmers impacted by hurricanes, tornadoes, snowstorms, or flooding.

The WHIP+ program is specifically targeted for losses in 2018 or 2019 for counties that received a qualifying disaster designation from President Trump or Secretary Perdue. 

The following Louisiana parishes are eligible to participate in WHIP+:

Acadia: 2018 only

Allen: 2018 only

Ascension: 2018 only

Assumption: 2018 only

Avoyelles: 2018 only

Beauregard: 2018 only

Bossier: 2018 only

Caddo: 2018 only

Calcasieu: 2018 only

Cameron: 2018 only

Catahoula: 2018 only

Evangeline: 2018 only

Grant: 2018 only

Jefferson Davis: 2018 only

Lafayette: 2018 only

LaFourche: 2018 only

Lincoln: 2019 only

Morehouse: 2018 and 2019

Natchitoches: 2018 only

Pointe Coupee: 2018 only

Rapides: 2018 only

Red River: 2018 only

St. Charles: 2018 only

St. James: 2018 only

St. John the Baptist: 2018 only

St. Landry: 2018 only

St. Martin: 2018 only

Terrebonne: 2018 only

Union: 2019 only

Vermilion: 2018 only

More than $3 billion is available through the disaster relief package passed by Congress and signed by President Trump in early June. WHIP+ builds on the successes of its predecessor program the 2017 Wildfire and Hurricane Indemnity Program (2017 WHIP) that was authorized by the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018. In addition, the relief package included new programs to cover losses for milk dumped or removed from the commercial market and losses of eligible farm stored commodities due to eligible disaster events in 2018 and 2019. Also, prevented planting supplemental disaster payments will provide support to producers who were prevented from planting eligible crops for the 2019 crop year.