Wednesday, April 3, 2002
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Wednesday, April 3, 2002 |
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Local counties eligible for USDA emergency farm loans Agriculture Secretary Ann M. Veneman recently named 69 counties in Georgia, including Fayette, as eligible for USDA emergency farm loans due to losses caused by drought that occurred last year. "These emergency loans will help Georgia farmers who suffered from a damaged cotton crop and reduced forage for cattle," said Veneman. Banks, Butts, Candler, Clayton, Elbert, Emanuel, Fayette, Glascock, Henry, Jackson, Jefferson, Johnson, Laurens, Madison, Oglethorpe, Tattnall, Taylor, Washington and Wilkinson counties were named Feb. 7 as primary disaster areas. Also eligible, because they are contiguous, are Appling, Baldwin, Barrow, Bleckley, Bulloch, Burke, Clarke, Coweta, Crawford, DeKalb, Dodge, Evans, Franklin, Fulton, Greene, Gwinnett, Habersham, Hall, Hancock, Hart, Jasper, Jenkins, Jones, Lamar, Liberty, Lincoln, Long, Macon, Marion, McDuffie, Monroe, Montgomery, Newton, Oconee, Peach, Richmond, Rockdale, Schley, Spalding, Stephens, Talbot, Taliaferro, Toombs, Treutlen, Twiggs, Upson, Warren, Wayne, Wheeler and Wilkes counties. This designation makes all qualified farm operators in primary and contiguous disaster counties eligible for low-interest EM loans from the Farm Service Agency, provided eligibility requirements are met. Farmers in eligible counties have eight months from the date of this 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. Interested farmers may contact their local FSA offices for further information on eligibility requirements and application procedures. Additional information is also available online at www.fsa.usda.gov/pas/disaster/assistance1.htm .
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