Southwest Missouri counties reeling from prolonged drought can now find help through the USDA Farm Service Agency.

U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue designated two more Missouri counties as primary natural disaster areas. Farmers in Dade and Jasper counties join a growing list of people who are eligible for disaster assistance from losses caused by recent drought.

A map produced by the Missouri Department of Agriculture shows a total of 21 counties with a disaster designation.

The natural disaster designation allows FSA to offer emergency credit to farmers and ranchers through its emergency loan program. These loans can be used to meet various recovery needs, including the replacement of essential items such as equipment or livestock, reorganization of a farming operation, or the refinance of certain debts.

Eligibility requirements

According to the FSA website, the farm must suffer a 30% loss in a primary crop to be eligible. Losses to quality, such as receiving a reduced price for flood-damaged crops, may be eligible for assistance.

In addition to the general eligibility requirements all loan applicants must meet, there are some additional criteria unique to the Emergency Loan program:

• The loan applicant must be an established farmer and either the owner-operator or tenant-operator of the farm at the time of the disaster.
• Loan applicants must intend to continue farming.
• Loan applicants must get written declinations of credit from organized commercial lending institutions.
• If the loan is greater than $100,000 and less than $300,000, only one letter is required.
• If the loan is greater than $300,000, two letters of declination are required.
• If the loan amount requested is $100,000 or less, this requirement is determined on a case-by-case basis at the agency's discretion.
• Loan applications must be received by the agency no later than eight months after the date the disaster is declared or designated.
• The loss or damage to the farm operation must be directly attributed to the stated reason of the disaster declaration.
• Crop insurance is not required at the time of the loss, but it will be a requirement for the coming year to receive a loan.

Loan limitation

The maximum loan amount for an emergency loan is $500,000. However, the amount is limited to the actual production or physical loss caused by the drought.

The deadline to apply for these emergency loans is June 28, 2021. FSA will review the loans based on the extent of losses, security available and repayment ability.

Farmers should contact their local USDA service center for further information or visit farmers.gov/recover.

USDA-Farm Service Agency contributed to this article.