United States Department of Agriculture
Farm Service Agency

Tree Assistance Program

Growers are strongly encouraged to be aware of the TAP process and must meet deadlinesin order to remain eligible for the program and receivebenefits.

What is TAP?

TAP is administered by the Farm Service Agency of the USDA. Under the Farm Bill of 2014, when a crop is affected by a natural disaster, the Tree Assistance Program (TAP) can provide financial assistance to qualifying orchardists and tree growers to replant or rehabilitate eligible trees, bushes or vines.

Eligible trees, bushes and vines are those from which an annual crop is produced for commercial purposes.

Eligibility

 To qualify, participants must have suffered a qualifying loss in excess of 18% mortality from an eligible disaster for an individual stand

Participants must turn in evidence ofeligible disaster. For Red Blotch, a minimum of 10 symptomatic vines from each block must be verified through polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing performed at a commercial laboratory.

Participants must have owned the eligible trees or possess long term lease agreements.

To find more information about FSA programs, contact your local FSA office or USDA Service Center, or visit FSA online at

Initial Inspection

A certified loss adjuster from the FSA will visit the field for an initial inspection after TAP application and associated paperwork is filed.

The loss adjuster will verify acreage, individual plant count, and evidence of effects of eligible disaster.

To remain eligible participants must not remove any part of the affected crop prior to inspection.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all of its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, and where applicable, sex, marital status, familial status, parental status, religion, sexual orientation, political beliefs, genetic information, reprisal, or because all or part of an individual’s income is derived from any public assistance program. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.) Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for communication of program information (Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact USDA’s TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TDD). To file a complaint of discrimination, write to USDA, Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue, S.W., Stop 9410, Washington, DC 20250-9410, or call toll-free at (866) 632-9992 (English) or (800) 877-8339 (TDD) or (866) 377-8642 (English Federal-relay) or (800) 845-6136 (Spanish Federal-relay). USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.