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USDA announces signup for the 2018 Reimbursement Transportation Program
Program helps offset cost for farmers, ranchers outside contiguous US
HONOLULU, Hawaii—The U.S. Department of Agriculture Hawaii State and Pacific Basin Farm Service Agency executive director AL Frenzel announced to farmers and ranchers residing outside the contiguous continental United States that the Reimbursement Transportation Cost Payment Program for fiscal year 2018 will begin on July 16, 2018, and end on Sept. 7, 2018.
The 2014 Farm Bill reauthorized RTCP, which offsets a portion of the costs of transporting agricultural products over long distances. The program allows farmers and ranchers in Alaska, Hawaii and insular areas including the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands, Virgin Islands of the United States, Federated States of Micronesia, Republic of the Marshall Islands and Republic of Palau, to recover any transportation costs.
“This program helps U.S. farmers and ranchers outside the 48 contiguous states who are at a competitive disadvantage when transporting agriculture products to market,” said Frenzel.
RTCP payments are calculated based on the costs incurred for transportation of the agricultural commodity or inputs during a fiscal year, subject to an $8,000 per producer cap per fiscal year. In the event that claims for payments exceed the funds available from the program for a fiscal year, payments will be reduced on a pro-rata basis.
For more information on RTCP, farmers and ranchers in the eligible areas can visit their administrative FSA county office or the FSA website at www.fsa.usda.gov/pricesupport. To find your local FSA county office, visit http://offices.usda.gov. (PR)
