USDA Designates Ag Disaster Counties

WASHINGTON - Mar 1/06 - SNS -- The USDA designated counties in Texas and Virginia as primary natural disaster areas, making all qualified farm operators eligible for low-interest emergency (EM) loans from USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA).

In Pennsylvania, 23 counties were designated as primary disaster areas due to losses caused by drought s that occurred from May 1, 2005, and continuing. Those counties are:

Armstrong    Clearfield   Fayette      Lackawanna   Pike         Tioga
Bedford      Clinton      Fulton       Lehigh       Potter       Washington
Bradford     Elk          Greene       Luzerne      Sullivan     Wayne
Centre       Erie         Jefferson    McKean       Susquehanna

Also eligible because they are contiguous and have sustained production losses due to the same disaster conditions are the following counties:

Allegheny    Cameron      Huntingdon   Schuylkill
Beaver       Carbon       Indiana      Somerset
Berks        Clarion      Lycoming     Union
Blair        Columbia     Mifflin      Warren
Bucks        Crawford     Monroe       Westmoreland
Butler       Forest       Montgomery   Wyoming
Cambria      Franklin     Northhampton

All Pennsylvania counties listed above were designated natural disaster areas on Feb. 21, 2006.

In Texas, Sterling County was designated as a primary disaster area due to losses caused by fire that occurred from Jan. 1, 2006.

Also eligible because they are contiguous and have sustained production losses due to the same disaster conditions are Coke, Glasscock, Howard, Mitchell, Reagan and Tom Green Counties.

The Texas counties listed above were designated natural disaster areas on Feb. 21, 2006.

Tom Green County was designated as a primary disaster area due to losses caused by grass fires that occurred from Jan. 1, 2005, and continuing.

Also eligible because they are contiguous and have sustained production losses due to the same disaster conditions are Coke, Concho, Irion, Menard, Reagan, Runnels, Schleicher and Sterling Counties.

These counties were designated natural disaster areas on Feb. 23, 2006.

Bedford, Hanover, Russell and Wise Counties were designated as primary disaster areas due to losses caused by drought and high temperatures that occurred from June 1, 2005, and continuing.

Also eligible because they are contiguous and have sustained production losses due to the same disaster conditions are the following counties and independent cities:

Counties:

Amherst      Goochland    Roanoke
Botetcourt   Henrico      Rockbridge
Buchanan     King William Scott
Campbell     Lee          Smyth
Caroline     Louisa       Spotsylvania
Dickenson    New Kent     Tazewell
Franklin     Pittsylvania Washington

Independent cities include Bedford, Lynchburg and Norton.

These Virginia counties were designated natural disaster areas on Feb. 23, 2006.