Planning the long-term recovery of your farm

Disaster readiness - response - recovery Distributed in furtherance of the acts of Congress of May 8 and June 30. 1914. North Carolina State University and North Carolina A&T State University commit themselves to positive action to secure equal opportunity regardless of race, color, creed, national origin, religion, sex. age. or disability. In addition, tire two Universities welcome all persons without regard to sexual orientation. North Carolina State University. North Carolina AST State University. U.S. Department of Agriculture, and local governments cooperating. Planning the long-term recovery of your farm 1. Where do I begin? Recovering from any disaster, whether natural or manmade, can be tough— physically, financially, and emo¬ tionally. The first priority is personal safety and the safety of family and friends. Then there are the basic necessi¬ ties of life to take care of— food, shelter, clothing. At this time, many people go through several emotional phases: shock, anger, disorientation and disorga¬ nization, a feeling of loss, guilt or grati¬ tude for having survived, and, eventu¬ ally, acceptance and the ability to start rebuilding or replacing what was lost or damaged. This recovery process can create a high level of stress, which, in turn, can reduce a person’s ability to function. However, at some point, you are ready to— or you must— try to pick up the pieces and move on. If financial losses have been signifi¬ cant, longer-term financial issues must be tackled. Decisions should be made based on sound information, not emo¬ tion. This can be a challenge, both because you must know— or learn— what to do and because important informa¬ tion may have been lost in the disaster. This series of articles describes the why, what, and how of planning the financial recovery of a family farm— or any other family-owned business— following a natu¬ ral disaster. Also, manmade and personal catastrophes may create many of the same feelings and issues. Why is this necessary? Because people facing serious financial problems need to make carefully thought-out plans and sound decisions that are in the best long¬ term interests of their farm and family. What needs to be done? When trying to recover from a disaster, it is important to answer each of the following questions: STATE UNIVERSITY' A&T STATE UNIVERSITY COOPERATIVE EXTENSION Helping People Pu! Knowledge to Work