On Thursday, Congress passed the Extending Government Funding and Delivering Emergency Assistance Act, a continuing resolution to fund the government through Dec. 3.

The act also includes supplemental aid to farmers and ranchers, who have endured one disaster after another.

California Farm Bureau President Jamie Johansson hailed the passage of the continuing resolution, which also reauthorizes the Wildfire and Hurricane Indemnity Program Plus program.

The WHIP+ program provides aid to agricultural communities across the U.S. that faced unprecedented hardships in 2020 and 2021 from drought, wildfires, hurricanes and other natural disasters that caused vast crop damage and devastation to farming operations.

“California’s farmers and ranchers have experienced substantial crop damage due to wildfire and drought over the past two years,” Johansson said. “In addition to crops being fallowed by drought conditions, our producers have seen their productive acreage burned or damaged by wildfire and smoke taint.

“This disaster assistance will provide California’s family farms with needed additional support, providing both stability for our farmers and a safeguard for America’s domestic food supply.”

Johansson thanked Reps. Mike Thompson (D-St. Helena) and Jimmy Panetta (D-Carmel Valley) and Sen. Alex Padilla (D-California) and expressed his appreciation for the support from many other members of the California congressional delegation.

The California Farm Bureau works to protect family farms and ranches on behalf of nearly 32,000 members statewide and as part of a nationwide network of nearly 5.6 million Farm Bureau members.