Drought Leads To Disaster Declaration For NW Counties

On Wednesday Ag Secretary Sonny Perdue announced the designation of seven central Washington counties as primary natural disaster area. Producers in Chelan, Douglas, Grant, Kittitas, Klickitat, Okanogan, and Yakima counties who suffered losses due to recent drought may be eligible for FSA emergency loans. This natural disaster designation 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 the replacement of essential items such as equipment or livestock, reorganization of a farming operation or the refinance of certain debts.

Producers in the contiguous Washington counties of Adams, Benton, Ferry, Franklin, King, Lewis, Lincoln, Pierce, Skagit, Skamania, Snohomish, and Whatcom, as well as Gilliam, Hood River, Morrow, Sherman, and Wasco counties in Oregon, are also eligible to apply for emergency loans.

The deadline to apply for these emergency loans is February 11^th, 2021.

FSA will review the loans based on the extent of losses, security available and repayment ability. Farmers may contact their local USDA service center for further information on eligibility requirements and application procedures for these and other programs. Additional information is also available online at the USDA’s Website.

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