Businesses, Nonprofits and Agriculture - Hurricane Milton Recovery

Resources for businesses, nonprofits and agriculture affected by Hurricane Milton

A. Storm Debris Cleanup

Hillsborough County is continuing cleanup efforts after Hurricane Milton, and collecting storm debris from agricultural businesses.
Agricultural businesses with remaining storm debris on private property must complete a Private Property Right of Entry Form (ROE) authorizing the right of access to enter private property for purposes of performing debris removal.

Things to consider

This agreement is only for agricultural properties
Only the property owner or authorized tenant may sign the agreement

How to complete and submit Private Property Right of Entry Form

Property owners will need to submit the completed and signed Right-of-Entry/Hold Harmless form to debrisremoval@hcfl.gov. A customer service rep will verify the name on the ROE matches the County records.
Tenants will need to submit the completed and signed Right-of-Entry/Hold Harmless form, as well as their tenant agreement, to debrisremoval@hcfl.gov. The tenant agreement should include a provision authorizing the tenant to agree to all the conditions outlined in the ROE.
Once the completed and emailed form is received, Hillsborough County Public Works staff will coordinate pick up with the owner or authorized tenant. If you have questions, contact Public Works at (813) 635-5400.
At the time of service, the property owner or tenant will need to present their ID to the debris collection monitor to verify their identity

B. Business Resource and Assessment Center (BRAC)

The BRAC is a one-stop-shop where businesses can receive technical and financial assistance to aid in hurricane recovery and become more resilient to future disasters. It offers SBA disaster loan programs, business mentoring, coaching, and funding strategies.

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has partnered with the Florida Small Business Development Center (SBDC) at Hillsborough County and SCORE, a nonprofit business mentoring organization, to enhance the existing Business Recovery Center (BRC) in Hillsborough.

The BRAC is located at:

Hillsborough County Entrepreneur Collaborative Center (ECC)
2101 E. Palm Ave., Tampa, FL 33605
(813) 204-9267

Hours of Operation

Monday – Thursday: 8 AM to 4 PM
Friday: 8 AM to 2 PM
Saturday: 9 AM to 1 PM
Sunday: Closed

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) will accept all disaster loan applications up to 60 days after the filing deadline. You can apply online using the MySBA Portal at https://lending.sba.gov.

SBA may accept applications received more than 60 days after the deadline when the SBA determines the late filing resulted from causes essentially beyond your control. You can request assistance with a late application by contacting the SBA Customer Service Center via
email at disastercustomerservice@sba.gov or by phone at 1-800-659-2955, or in person at an SBA Recovery Center.

C. Business Damage Assessment

The State of Florida has opened the Business Damage Assessment Survey for Hurricane Milton. Please take a moment to complete the survey. Completing the survey helps to ensure the appropriate services are available during recovery.

Business Damage Assessment Survey

D. Hurricane Milton Agricultural Impacts Survey Available

The University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) is conducting a survey to determine agricultural damages from Hurricane Milton. Survey results will be used to estimate production losses and inform local, state, and federal decision-making related to disaster declaration, response, and relief.

FAQs and Survey Access

E. State of Florida, Agriculture and Aquaculture Producers Natural Disaster Recovery Loan Program

The Agriculture and Aquaculture Producers Natural Disaster Recovery Loan Program has been established within the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) to make low-interest or interest-free loans to agricultural and aquaculture producers who have experienced damage from a declared natural disaster.

FAQs and Apply

F. U.S. Department of Agriculture Disaster Assistance for Farmers, Ranchers and Forest Landowners

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farm Service Agency (FSA), Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and Risk Management Agency (RMA) offer recovery programs and insurance products to help farmers, ranchers and communities that have been hard-hit by hurricanes, flooding, tornadoes, and other related natural disaster events.

Additional Help for Agriculture Businesses

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) offers a suite of disaster assistance, farm loan and conservation programs to help farmers, ranchers and forest landowners to recover. In September 2024, USDA made changes to its emergency loan program so that producers can access emergency loans for any amount of damage (previously farmers had to show a 30% production loss), and to increase access to flexible repayment terms, including interest-only payments, if necessary to recover from the disaster. Below you will find links to direct you to a variety of recovery assistance.

Livestock and Poultry Assistance

Crop Assistance

Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP)

Farm Loans

Farm and Forest Land Damage

G. U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) loans - Hurricane Milton

The Small Business Administration (SBA) provides long-term low interest loans up to $2 million to cover disaster losses not fully covered by insurance. Depending on the circumstance, businesses may be eligible for the following loans:

SBA Business Physical Disaster Loans

Eligible Applicants: Qualified businesses of any size and most non-profit organizations. There is no charge to apply for the loan, and you do not have to accept it if you are approved.
Use of Proceeds: May be used to repair or replace physical assets such as real property, machinery, equipment, fixtures, inventory, leasehold improvements. Proceeds may not be used to upgrade or expand a business, except as required by building codes.

SBA Economic Injury Disaster Loans

The SBA provides long-term low interest loans up to $2 million for working capital to help small businesses, small agricultural cooperatives, and most private nonprofit organizations impacted by a disaster meet their ordinary and necessary financial obligations until normal operations resume.

To apply:

Visit: SBA.gov/Disaster
Call: SBA’s Customer Service Center at (800) 659-2955, 8 AM to 8 PM, ET, Monday – Friday
Email: disastercustomerservice@sba.gov

Deadline to apply:

Physical Damage Disaster Loans - Dec. 16, 2024
Economic Injury Disaster Loans - July 16, 2025

H. Assistance to Help Your Employees

Tips and programs to help your employees.

Encourage employees to apply online at Disasterassistance.gov
Offer internet connectivity, if you have it available, to help them register
Pass along the information on this page that may be relevant to your employees

Disaster Recovery Dislocated Worker Grant Program

The U.S. Department of Labor approved up to $5 million in initial emergency grant funding to Florida to support disaster-relief jobs and training services in 31 counties to help respond to Hurricane Helene
The National Dislocated Worker Grant – supported by the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act of 2014 – allows the Florida Department of Commerce to provide people with temporary disaster-relief jobs and the delivery of humanitarian assistance to address immediate, basic needs for those displaced by Hurricane Milton
Eligible participants include individuals temporarily or permanently laid off because of the disaster and self-employed individuals who became unemployed or significantly underemployed because of the disaster