USDA Designates 5 Ohio Counties as Primary Natural Disaster Areas

Severe Weather to Blame

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has designated five Ohio counties as primary agricultural natural disaster areas, making certain farmers and other agricultural producers in the counties eligible for low-interest emergency loans from USDA's Farm Service Agency (FSA).

The following counties were designated as primary natural disaster areas, due to excessive rain, flooding, high winds, and tornadoes that occurred from Feb. 2, 2011, through March 23, 2011: Ashland, Delaware, Holmes, Tuscarawas and Wyandot.

Counties eligible because they are contiguous to those listed above are Carroll, Coshocton, Crawford, Franklin, Guernsey, Hancock, Hardin, Harrison, Huron, Knox, Licking, Lorain, Marion, Medina, Morrow, Richland, Seneca, Stark, Union and Wayne.

All counties listed above were designated natural disaster areas June 24, 2011, making all qualified farm operators in the designated areas eligible for low interest emergency (EM) loans from USDA’s FSA, provided eligibility requirements are met. Farmers in eligible counties have eight months from the date of the declaration to apply for loans to help cover part of their actual losses. FSA will consider each loan application on its own merits, taking into account the extent of losses, security available and repayment ability. FSA has a variety of programs, in addition to the emergency loan program, to help eligible farmers recover from adversity.

USDA also has made other programs available to assist farmers, including the Supplemental Revenue Assistance Program (SURE), which was approved as part of the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008; the Emergency Conservation Program; Federal Crop Insurance; and the Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program.

Interested farmers may contact their local FSA county office for further information on eligibility requirements and application procedures for these and other programs.

Source: Hannah News Service, Inc.