WASHINGTON, March 18, 2015 — The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has designated 25 counties in North Dakota as a primary natural disaster area due to damages and losses caused by the combined effects of frost, colder than average winter, cooler than normal spring temperatures, excessive rainfall, ground saturation, frost, freeze, severe thunderstorms, hail, high winds, drought, weather-related insects, diseases and sprout damage that occurred from Jan. 1, 2014, and continues. Those counties are: Adams, Billings, Bottineau, Burke, Burleigh, Divide, Dunn, Emmons, Golden Valley, Grand Forks, Hettinger, McHenry, McKenzie, McLean, Mountrail, Nelson, Oliver, Pembina, Ramsey, Renville, Stark, Traill, Walsh, Ward, Williams.
“Our hearts go out to those North Dakota farmers and ranchers affected by recent natural disasters,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. “President Obama and I are committed to ensuring that agriculture remains a bright spot in our nation’s economy by sustaining the successes of America’s farmers, ranchers, and rural communities through these difficult times. We’re also telling North Dakota producers that USDA stands with you and your communities when severe weather and natural disasters threaten to disrupt your livelihood.”
Farmers and ranchers in the following counties in North Dakota also qualify for natural disaster assistance because their counties are contiguous. Those counties are: Benson, Bowman, Cass, Cavalier, Eddy, Grant, Griggs, Kidder, Logan, McIntosh, Mercer, Morton, Pierce, Rolette, Sheridan, Sioux, Slope, Steele, Towner.
Farmers and ranchers in the following counties in Minnesota, Montana and South Dakota also qualify for natural disaster assistance because their counties are contiguous. Those counties are:
Minnesota: Kittson, Marshall, Norman and Polk.
Montana: Fallon, Richland, Roosevelt, Sheridan and Wibaux.
South Dakota: Campbell, Corson, Harding, and Perkins.
All counties listed above were designated natural disaster areas on March 18, 2015, 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 a variety of programs, in addition to the EM loan program, to help eligible farmers recover from adversity.
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. Additional information is also available online at http://disaster.fsa.usda.gov.
FSA news releases are available on FSA’s website at http://www.fsa.usda.gov via the “Newsroom” link.
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