USDA Designates Disaster Areas

WASHINGTON - Apr 27/04 - SNS -- The USDA designated several counties in Kansas, Oregon and Texas as primary agricultural disaster areas.

Brown County in Kansas is designated as a primary disaster area due to damages and losses caused by drought that occurred from June 15, 2003, through Sept. 30, 2003. All counties that are contiguous to Brown County have previously been designated as primary or contiguous disaster areas.

Morrow County in Oregon is designated as a primary disaster area due to damages and losses caused by ongoing drought. All counties that are contiguous to Morrow County have previously been designated as primary or contiguous disaster areas.

Robertson County in Texas is designated as a primary disaster area due to damages and losses caused by rain, winds and a tornado that occurred from Oct. 5, 2003, through Oct. 9, 2003. Also eligible because they are contiguous are the counties of Brazos, Burleson, Falls, Leon, Limestone, Madison and Milam.

These counties were designated on April 21, 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.