Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue designated six counties in Texas as primary natural disaster areas. Producers in Gillespie, Hood, Johnson, Kerr, Llano and Mason counties who suffered losses due to drought may be eligible for U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA) emergency loans.

This designation by Secretary Perdue allows FSA to extend much-needed emergency credit to producers recovering from natural disasters. Emergency loans can be used to meet various recovery needs, including replacing essential items such as equipment or livestock, reorganizing a farming operation, or refinancing certain debts.

Producers in the following contiguous Texas counties, are also eligible to apply for emergency loans:

 The deadline to apply for these emergency loans is April 10, 2019.

 FSA will review the loans based on the extent of losses, security available, and repayment ability.

 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 https://www.farmers.gov/recover.

Source: USDA