Wisconsin Ag Connection - Three WI Counties Qualify for USDA Disaster Assistance

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Three WI Counties Qualify for USDA Disaster Assistance
Wisconsin Ag Connection - 09/29/2014

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has designated 18 counties in Minnesota as primary natural disaster areas due to the combined effects of heavy rainfall, flooding, ground saturation, standing water and colder than normal temperatures earlier this year. The agency says farmers and ranchers in Burnett, Douglas and Polk counties in Wisconsin also qualify for natural disaster assistance because they are contiguous to the affected Minnesota areas.

Producers in those counties may be eligible for low interest emergency loans from USDA's Farm Service Agency. Applicants 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.

Additional programs available to assist farmers and ranchers include the Emergency Conservation Program, the Livestock Forage Disaster Program, the Livestock Indemnity Program, the 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.

The designation covers damages suffered from May 1 through July 1, 2014.

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