Florida Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson just extended the deadline for Florida’s hurricane disaster relief grant, giving farmers hit by hurricanes in 2023 and 2024 more time to apply for over $600 million in assistance. The new deadline is January 1, 2027, or until funds run out.
This relief program covers all kinds of hurricane damage, like broken barns or busted greenhouses, market losses for crops like strawberries, blueberries, and sweet corn, grove damage for citrus growers, and cleanup or replanting costs for folks with storm-hit timberland.
Right now, over 600 producers have already received nearly $100 million in disaster grants. The program, organized by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, along with the USDA, draws on federal funds to help producers knock down the costs of recovering from storms like Idalia, Debby, Helene, and Milton.
Eligible applicants are U.S. citizens or legal entities who owned or bore risk for crops in the counties affected by these hurricanes, whether primary or neighboring disaster zones. It’s first-come, first-served, so the sooner farmers get their paperwork in, the better.
Applications, guidelines, and real-time tracking are all available through the official Florida Block Grant Disaster Relief Portal. For hands-on help, folks can call the FDACS Customer Service Center at (850) 688-1220.
Before applying, farmers should read the eligibility rules and gather all the necessary documents. Missing paperwork can slow things down, so a little prep work pays off.
