Source: USDA-Farm Service Agency
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has designated 14 counties in Texas as primary natural disaster areas due to damages and losses caused by a recent drought. Those counties are:
Angelina | Lee | San Augustine |
Burleson | McLennan | Shelby |
Caldwell | Nacogdoches | Trinity |
Guadalupe | Panola | Williamson |
Harrison | Rusk |
Farmers and ranchers in the following counties in Texas also qualify for natural disaster assistance because their counties are contiguous. Those counties are:
Bastrop | Gonzales | Sabine |
Bell | Gregg | San Jacinto |
Bexar | Hays | Smith |
Bosque | Hill | Travis |
Brazos | Houston | Tyler |
Burnet | Jasper | Upshur |
Cherokee | Limestone | Walker |
Comal | Marion | Washington |
Coryell | Milam | Wilson |
Falls | Polk | |
Fayette | Robertson |
All counties listed above were designated natural disaster areas on Sept. 23, 2015, making all qualified farm operators in the designated areas eligible for low interest emergency (EM) loans from USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA), provided eligibility requirements are met. Farmers in eligible parishes and 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 EM loan program, to help eligible farmers recover from adversity.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has designated 9 counties in Oklahoma as primary natural disaster areas due to damages and losses caused by heavy rainfall, flooding, high winds and tornadoes that occurred from May 1, 2015, through June 30, 2015. Those counties are:
Bryan | Le Flore | Marshall |
Carter | Love | Muskogee |
Choctaw | McCurtain | Sequoyah |
Farmers and ranchers in the following counties in Oklahoma also qualify for natural disaster assistance because their counties are contiguous. Those counties are:
Adair | Haskell | McIntosh | Stephens |
Atoka | Jefferson | Murray | Wagoner |
Cherokee | Johnston | Okmulgee | |
Garvin | Latimer | Pushmataha |
Farmers and ranchers in the following counties in Texas also qualify for natural disaster assistance because their counties are contiguous. Those counties are Bowie, Cooke, Fannin, Grayson, Lamar, Montague and Red River
All counties listed above were designated natural disaster areas on Sept. 23, 2015, making all qualified farm operators in the designated areas eligible for low interest emergency (EM) loans from USDA’s Farm Service Agency (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 EM loan program, to help eligible farmers recover from adversity.
Additional programs available to assist farmers and ranchers include the Emergency Conservation Program, The Livestock Forage Disaster Program, the Livestock Indemnity Program, the Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees, and Farm-Raised Fish Program, and the Tree Assistance Program. Interested farmers may contact their local USDA Service Centers for further information on eligibility requirements and application procedures for these and other programs. Additional information is also available online at disaster.fsa.usda.gov.