USDA Designates More Counties as Disaster Areas

WASHINGTON - Aug 4/04 - SNS -- The USDA expanded the list of counties designated as primary agriculture disaster areas to include counties in California, Missouri, Nebraska and Washington.

Butte, Glenn and Yuba Counties in California are designated as primary disaster areas due to damages and losses caused by high temperatures and low humidity that occurred from March 12, 2004, through March 15, 2004. Also eligible because they are contiguous are the counties of Colusa, Lake, Mendocino, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, Sierra, Sutter and Tehama.

Fresno County in California is designated as a primary disaster area due to damages and losses caused by hot weather that occurred from March 4, 2004, through March 31, 2004. Also eligible because they are contiguous are the counties of Inyo, Kings, Madera, Merced, Mono, Monterey, San Benito and Tulare.

Merced County in California is designated as primary disaster area due to damages and losses caused by high temperatures and wind that occurred on March 25, 2004. Also eligible because they are contiguous are the counties of Fresno, Mariposa, Madera, San Benito, Santa Clara and Stanislaus.

Sutter County in California is designated as a primary disaster area due to damages and losses caused by high temperatures and low humidity that occurred from March 9, 2004, through March 22, 2004. Also eligible because they are contiguous are the counties of Butte, Colusa, Placer, Sacramento, Yolo and Yuba.

Linn County in Missouri is designated as a primary disaster area due to damages and losses caused by winds, tornadoes, hail and flooding that occurred on May 24, 2004. Also eligible because they are contiguous are the counties of Adair, Chariton, Gentry, Grundy, Livingston, Macon and Sullivan.

Franklin County in Washington is designated as a primary disaster area due to damages and losses caused by sub-zero temperatures that occurred from Jan. 4, 2004, through Jan. 7, 2004. Also eligible because they are contiguous are the counties of Adams, Benton, Columbia, Grant, Walla Walla and Whitman.

Yakima County in Washington is designated as a primary disaster area due to damages and losses caused by sub-zero temperatures that occurred from Oct. 29, 2003, through Jan. 8, 2004. Also eligible because they are contiguous are the counties of Benton, Grant, King, Kittitas, Klickitat, Lewis, Pierce and Skamania.

Box Butte and Dawes Counties in Nebraska are designated as primary disaster areas due to damages and losses caused by drought that occurred from Jan. 1, 2004, and continuing. Also eligible because they are contiguous are the counties of Morrill, Scotts Bluff and Sioux.

Sheridan County in Nebraska is designated as a primary disaster area due to damages and losses caused by drought that occurred from Jan. 1, 2004, and continuing and a freeze that occurred from May 13, 2004, through May 14, 2004. Also eligible because they are contiguous are the counties of Box Butte, Cherry, Dawes, Garden, Grant and Morrill.

The California counties were designated on August 2, 2004; all other counties in Missouri, Nebraska and Washington were designated on July 29, 2004, making all qualified farm operators eligible for low-interest emergency (EM) loans from the 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 the 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 available, in addition to the emergency loan program, to help eligible farmers recover from adversity.