Producers in Florida holding crop insurance through the Hurricane Insurance Protection-Wind Index Program and also the Tropical Storm option will receive $143 million in indemnities as a result of Hurricane Milton.  This program has disbursed $776 million to farmers in 2024 to date with Florida receiving $340 million since the program was introduced in 2020.  Hurricane Milton severely damaged citrus, and cotton crops and timber as previously reported.

In announcing the payments, Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack stated, “Florida farmers, livestock producers and forestland owners have been hit hard by hurricanes this year and we are continuing our efforts to help producers recover following hurricanes including Milton.”  In addition to crop insurance the USDA Farm Service Agency is offering additional disaster assistance including loans for forest rehabilitation, replacement of fences and herd mortality.