The US Department of Agriculture has designated 10 counties in Iowa as primary natural disaster areas due to the drought. This means qualified farm operators in the designated areas are eligible for FSA’s emergency (EM) loans, provided eligibility requirements are met.
The primary counties include: Clarke, Decatur, Jefferson, Lucas, Madison, Marion, Union, Wapello, Warren and Wayne.
Farmers in 16 contiguous counties also qualify for natural disaster assistance. Contiguous counties include:
Adair
Davis
Keokuk
Ringgold
Adams
Guthrie
Mahaska
Taylor
Appanoose
Henry
Monroe
Van Buren
Dallas
Jasper
Polk
Washington
Farmers and ranchers in Harrison, Mercer and Putnam counties in Missouri also qualify for natural disaster assistance because their counties are contiguous.
All counties listed above were designated natural disaster areas on Aug. 25, 2017, making all qualified farm operators in the designated areas eligible for FSA’s emergency (EM) loans, 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.
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.