Close to 2500 applicants will receive disaster assistance aid through USDA’s Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees and Farm Raised Fish. The aid covers losses from October 1 of 2011 through September 30 of 2013. Beekeepers are getting help due to losses caused by colony collapse disorder. South Dakota honey producer and beekeeper Richard Adee says quite a few South Dakota beekeeper suffered losses and need the help from USDA.
Adee says colony collapse disorder has been a difficult disease to control and researchers are continuing to work on it.
Adee says the USDA assistance is very helpful in that it is retroactive back to two years. The farm bill caps ELAP disaster funding at $ 20 million per federal fiscal year. USDA has been able to issue payments less than three months after the enrollment deadline.