USDA Designates 69 Additional Counties in Texas As Primary Natural Disaster Areas
11/04/2009 08:01AM
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The U.S. Department of Agriculture has designated 69 counties in Texas as primary natural disaster areas because of losses caused by drought, above-normal temperatures and associated wildfires that that occurred during 2009. These 69 counties are in addition to 70 counties previously designated as primary natural disaster areas earlier this year for the same reason.
The 69 additional counties are:
Angelina Crockett Guadalupe Kerr Robertson
Atascosa Crosby Hale Kimble Somervell
Bailey Deaf Smith Hall Lamb Starr
Bandera Denton Hardeman Lavaca Swisher
Bexar Dimmit Harris Leon Trinity
Brazoria Duval Haskell Lynn Walker
Brazos Edwards Hidalgo Madison Ward
Briscoe Fort Bend Hood Milam Webb
Brooks Frio Houston Mitchell Wheeler
Burleson Gaines Jack Montgomery Willacy
Cameron Galveston Jackson Palo Pinto Williamson
Castro Goliad Jeff Davis Parker Zapata
Clay Grayson Jim Hogg Parmer Zavala
Colorado Grimes Jim Wells Refugio
"President Obama and I understand these conditions caused severe damage to the area and serious harm to farms in Texas and we want to help," said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. "This action will provide help to hundreds of farmers who suffered significant production losses to their pasture, hay and other forage, wheat and oats."
Farm operators in the counties listed below in Texas also qualify for natural disaster assistance because their counties are contiguous. Those counties are:
Anderson Cottle Howard McMullen Stephens
Andrews Crane Hudspeth Medina Sterling
Aransas Culberson Irion Menard Stonewall
Archer Dallas Jasper Montague Sutton
Armstrong Dawson Johnson Motley Tarrant
Austin De Witt Jones Nacogdoches Terrell
Bastrop Dickens Karnes Nolan Terry
Baylor Donley Kendall Nueces Throckmorton
Bee Eastland Kenedy Oldham Travis
Bell Ector Kent Pecos Tyler
Borden Erath King Polk Upton
Bosque Falls Kinney Potter Uvalde
Brewster Fannin Kleberg Presidio Val Verde
Burnet Fayette Knox Randall Victoria
Caldwell Fisher La Salle Reagan Waller
Calhoun Floyd Lee Real Washington
Chambers Foard Liberty Reeves Wharton
Cherokee Freestone Limestone Roberts Wichita
Childress Garza Live Oak San Augustine Wilbarger
Cochran Gillespie Loving San Jacinto Wilson
Coke Gonzales Lubbock San Patricio Winkler
Collin Gray Martin Schleicher Wise
Collingsworth Hays Mason Scurry Yoakum
Comal Hemphill Matagorda Shackelford Young
Cooke Hockley Maverick
Farm operators in the counties listed below in the adjacent states of New Mexico and Oklahoma also qualify for natural disaster assistance because their counties are contiguous.
New Mexico: Curry, Lea, Quay and Roosevelt
Oklahoma: Beckham, Bryan, Cotton, Harmon, Jackson, Jefferson, Love, Marshall and Roger Mills
All counties listed above were designated natural disaster areas Nov. 2, 2009, 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 variety of programs, in addition to the EM loan program, to help eligible farmers recover from adversity.
USDA has also 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.