Floods caused severe damage in localized areas of Albany and Schoharie counties during the Memorial Day weekend.

Farms and ranches suffering severe damage may be eligible for assistance under the Emergency Conservation Program administered by the Schoharie-Albany-Schenectady County Farm Service Agency.

For land to be eligible, the natural disaster must create new conservation problems that, if untreated, would:

— Be so costly to rehabilitate that Federal assistance is or will be needed to return the land to productive agricultural use;

— Be unusual and is not the type that would recur frequently in the same area;

— Affect the productive capacity of the farmland; and

— Impair or endanger the land.

A producer qualifying for assistance may receive cost-share levels not to exceed 75 percent of the eligible cost of restoration measures. No producer is eligible for more than $200,000 cost sharing per natural disaster occurrence.

Eligible measures include: removing debris from farmland; grading, shaping, or releveling severely damaged farmland; restoring permanent fences; and restoring conservation structures.

Producers who have suffered a loss may call (518) 295-8600 and request assistance.