Documenting Loss: Key to Disaster Assistance

The Farm Service Agency has disaster programs available for those farmers and ranchers affected by the fires in western North Dakota. Documentation is necessary to utilize the assistance programs. “A picture is worth a thousand words so before you start fixing fences, take a picture of what that burned-up fence looked like first,” said Marcy Svenningsen, executive director, North Dakota State FSA. There are resources out there to help you decide what to document but Svenningsen suggests you keep as much documentation as possible and ask yourself “how would I prove what I’m doing to somebody so that I could be reimbursed for it?”