Farm Progress

USDA designates seven New Mexico counties as primary natural disaster areasUSDA designates seven New Mexico counties as primary natural disaster areas

Counties in New Mexico, Texas and Arizona qualify for natural disaster assistance due to the drought

May 15, 2018

1 Min Read

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has designated seven counties in New Mexico as primary natural disaster areas due to losses and damages caused by a recent drought. Those counties are:

 

  • Bernalillo

  • Hidalgo

  • Sierra

  • Valencia

  • Dona Ana

  • Otero

  • Socorro
     

Farmers and ranchers in the following contiguous counties in New Mexico also qualify for natural disaster assistance. Those counties are:

  • Catron

  • Cibola

  • Grant

  • Luna

  • Santa Fe

  • Chaves

  • Eddy

  • Lincoln

  • Sandoval

  • Torrance
     

Farmers and ranchers in the following contiguous counties of Cochise and Greenlee in Arizona, and Culberson, El Paso, and Hudspeth in Texas also qualify for natural disaster assistance.

Qualified farm operators in the designated areas eligible for the Farm Service Agency’s (FSA’s) emergency (EM) loans, provided eligibility requirements are met. Farmers in eligible counties have eight months from the date of the declaration of May 3, 2018, 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 the impacts of this disaster.

Other FSA programs that can provide assistance, but may 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.

See USDA designates four counties in Texas as primary natural disaster areas

Source: USDA

Subscribe to receive top agriculture news
Be informed daily with these free e-newsletters

You May Also Like