USDA Designate Ag Disaster Counties

WASHINGTON - Jul 27/05 - SNS -- The USDA designated counties in Texas, California and Minnesota as primary agricultural disaster areas, making certain farmers, ranchers and other agricultural producers in the counties eligible for low-interest emergency loans from USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA).

Callahan County, Texas, was designated as a primary disaster area due to losses caused by excessive rain, flash flooding, hail, high winds and lightning that occurred on June 4, 2005.

Also eligible because they are contiguous include: Brown, Eastland, Shackelford, Coleman, Jones, and Taylor.

In addition Knox County, Texas, was designated as a primary disaster area due to losses caused by excessive rain, flash flooding, hail, high winds and lightning that occurred on May 31, 2005.

Also eligible because they are contiguous include: Baylor, Haskell, Stonewall, Foard, King, and Throckmorton.

In California, Yuba County was designated as a primary disaster area due to losses caused by unseasonable high temperatures and low humidity that occurred from March 9, 2005, through March 15, 2005.

Also eligible because they are contiguous include: Butte, Placer, Sierra, Nevada, Plumas, and Sutter.

In Minnesota, 19 counties were designated as primary disaster areas due to losses caused by winterkill resulting from severe cold, excessive moisture, and lack of snow cover; followed by below-freezing spring temperatures and cool, wet weather that occurred from Nov. 1, 2004, through April 30, 2005.

Those counties include: Anoka, Clay, Kanabec, Pine, Wabasha, Benton, Grant, McLeod, Pope, Wilkin, Carver Hennepin Mille Lacs Sherburne Wright, Chisago, Isanti, Morrison, and Steele.

Also eligible because they are contiguous include: Aitkin, Dodge, Mower, Rice, Todd, Becker, Douglas, Norman, Scott, Traverse, Carlton, Freeborn, Olmsted, Sibley, Waseca, Cass, Goodhue, Otter, Tail, Stearns, Washington, Crow, Wing, Kandiyohi, Ramsey, Stevens, Winona, Dakota, Meeker, Renville, and Swift.

All counties listed above were designated on July 18, 2005, making all qualified farm operators eligible for low-interest emergency (EM) loans from 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.

In Texas, Floyd County was designated as a primary disaster area due to losses caused by excessive rain, flooding, hail, high winds, lightning and tornadoes that took place on June 9, 2005.

Also eligible because they are contiguous include: Briscoe, Dickens, Lubbock, Swisher, Crosby, Hale, and Motley.

The county was designated on July 20, 2005. Farmers in eligible counties have eight months from the designation to apply for the loans to help cover part of their actual losses.