WASHINGTON, D.C., July 20, 2011 — The U.S. Department of Agriculture has designated Valley County in Montana as a primary natural disaster area due to losses caused by winter storms, blizzards, excessive moisture and flooding that began Jan. 1, 2011, and continues.
“Valley County has experienced severe storms and flooding that has caused major losses to its alfalfa, barley, peas and wheat crops,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. “Through this designation, President Obama and I will give producers in that county some very much needed federal disaster assistance for its agricultural industry.”
Farmers and ranchers in following counties in Montana also qualify for natural disaster assistance because their counties are contiguous:
Daniels, Garfield, McCone, Phillips & Roosevelt
All counties listed above were designated natural disaster areas July 20, 2011, making all qualified farm operators in the designated areas eligible for low interest emergency (EM) loans from USDA’s 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 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, in addition to the EM loan program, to help eligible farmers recover from adversity.
USDA also has made other programs available to assist farmers and ranchers, including the Supplemental Revenue Assistance Program (SURE), which was approved as part of the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008; the Emergency Conservation Program; Federal Crop Insurance; and the Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program. Interested farmers may contact their local USDA Service Centers for further information on eligibility requirements and application procedures for these and other programs. Additional information is also available online at http://disaster.fsa.usda.gov.
FSA news releases are available on FSA’s website at http://www.fsa.usda.gov via the “News and Events” link.
USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer and lender. To file a complaint of discrimination, write: USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Ave. SW, Washington, D.C. 20250-9410 or call (800) 795-3272 (voice), or (202) 720-6382 (TDD).
Source: USDA
Posted by Haylie Shipp
