USDA Designates Ag Disaster Areas

WASHINGTON - Nov 9/04 - SNS -- The USDA designated counties in Georgia, Kansas, Montana and New Jersey as primary agricultural disaster areas.

On Sept. 30, 2004, 83 counties in Georgia were designated as primary disaster areas due to damages and losses suffered from Hurricane Frances and its accompanying thunderstorms and tornadoes that occurred from Sept. 4, 2004, through Sept. 7, 2004. Four additional counties, Candler, Cook, Crisp and Irwin, are now also designated as primary disasters areas due to the same storm.

Meade County in Kansas has been designated as a primary disaster area due to damages and losses caused by freezing conditions that occurred on April 14, 2004, and May 13, 2004, and drought that occurred from Jan. 1, 2004, and continuing. Also eligible because it’s contiguous is Clark County.

In Montana the following 34 counties are designated as primary disaster areas due to losses caused by drought that occurred from Jan. 1, 2004, and continuing:

Beaverhead  Fallon          Liberty   Powder River   Sweet Grass
Big Horn    Glacier         Madison   Powell	     Teton
Broadwater  Golden Valley   McCone    Prairie	     Treasure
Carbon      Jefferson       Meagher   Rosebud	     Wheatland
Carter      Judith Basin    Mineral   Sanders	     Wibaux
Custer      Lake            Musselshell   Silver Bow  Yellowstone
Dawson      Lewis & Clark   Park       Stillwater

Also eligible because they are contiguous disaster counties are the
following:

Cascade    Fergus    Garfield   Lincoln	     Pondera	 Roosevelt
Chouteau   Flathead  Granite	Missoula     Ravalli	 Toole
Deer Lodge Gallatin  Hill	Petroleum    Richland    Valley

In New Jersey, Bergen, Burlington, Camden and Ocean Counties are designated as primary disaster areas due to losses caused by hail, rains and flooding that occurred from June 1, 2004, and continuing. Also eligible because they are contiguous are Atlantic, Essex, Gloucester, Hudson, Mercer, Monmouth and Passaic Counties.