WASHINGTON, July 9, 2013 - Payments have been officially issued in USDA’s Transportation Cost Program for fiscal year (FY) 2012 recipients.
The program is designed to help producers not in the continental United States transport a commodity or an input used to produce agricultural commodities. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack said the funds are vital to producers that don’t happen to live in the “lower 48.”
“All farmers and ranchers face challenges, but U.S. farmers and ranchers who are not on the mainland have a real competitive disadvantage when it’s time to move their products to market,” Vilsack said. “These payments help them offset some of their increased transportation cost, which not only helps the producers but also benefits consumers who have access to increased varieties of food.”
The Reimbursement Transportation Cost Payment Program for Geographically Disadvantaged Farmers and Ranchers (RTCP) provides payments intended to offset a portion of the higher costs of transporting agricultural inputs and commodities over long distances.
The program assists 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.
Signup for FY 2013 will begin on July 22, 2013, and end on Sept. 9, 2013. For more information on the RTCP program, farmers and ranchers in eligible areas can visit their local FSA county office or go online for more information.
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