LEWISTON – Jane Harden, executive director for USDA’s Farm Service Agency in Androscoggin/Sagadahoc counties, announced that eligible farmers who suffered quality losses to their crops in recent years can enroll in the Crop Disaster Program 2005-07 at local FSA service centers starting Monday, June 23.

“We have been conducting sign-up since last fall for quantity losses for the 2005-2007 crops, and now we are ready to conduct sign-up for quality losses,” said Harden. “FSA has already paid producers more than $1.8 billion for quantity losses and over $274 million for livestock losses. Now we can get the final piece of the disaster programs implemented.”

The CDP provides benefits to farmers who suffered losses to their 2005-07 crops from natural disasters and related conditions. Producers who incurred qualifying losses in 2005, 2006 or 2007 may receive benefits for only one of these years. However, producers may apply for benefits for losses to multiple crops as long as the losses occurred in the same crop year.

Only producers who obtained crop insurance coverage or coverage under the Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program for the year of loss will be eligible for CDP benefits. Producers must have suffered quality losses of at least 25 percent to be eligible for CDP. For further details, see the fact sheet at www.fsa.usda.gov/lntemet/FSA File/cdpqlty08.pdf. For more information about CDP and other disaster programs implemented by FSA, visit: http://disaster.fsa.usda.gov.