21 Counties in Florida as Primary Natural Disaster Areas with Assistance to Producers in Georgia

Dan Florida, Georgia, Industry News Release

floridaThe U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has designated 21 counties in Florida as primary natural disaster areas due to losses and damages caused by Hurricane Irma that occurred from Sept. 9, 2017, through Sept. 12, 2017. Those counties are:

Baker Hamilton Polk
Citrus Hernando Putnam
Clay Lafayette St. Johns
Columbia Levy Seminole
Dixie Manatee Suwannee
Duval Nassau Union
Flagler Pasco Volusia

Farmers and ranchers in the following counties in Florida also qualify for natural disaster assistance because their counties are contiguous. Those counties are:

Alachua Highlands Orange
Bradford Hillsborough Osceola
Brevard Lake Pinellas
DeSoto Madison Sarasota
Gilchrist Marion Sumter
Hardee Okeechobee Taylor

Farmers and ranchers in the following counties in Georgia also qualify for natural disaster assistance because their counties are contiguous. Those counties are:

Brooks Clinch Lowndes
Camden Echols Ware
Charlton    

All counties listed above were designated natural disaster areas on Dec. 12, 2017, making all qualified farm operators in the designated areas eligible for FSA’s emergency (EM) loans, 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.

Other FSA programs that can provide assistance, but do not require a disaster declaration, include Operating and Farm Ownership Loans; the Emergency Conservation Program; Livestock Forage Disaster Program; Livestock Indemnity Program; Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees and Farm-Raised Fish Program; and the Tree 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.