Washington - Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue designated eight New Hampshire counties as primary natural disaster areas. Producers who suffered losses caused by recent drought or recent excessive moisture may be eligible for U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA) emergency loans.
These natural disaster area designations allow 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.
Drought
Producers who suffered losses caused by drought that occurred between April 1, 2018, and Dec. 17, 2018, in Grafton County are eligible to apply for emergency loans.
Producers in the contiguous New Hampshire counties of Belknap, Carroll, Coos, Merrimack and Sullivan, along with Caledonia, Essex, Orange and Windsor counties in Vermont, are also eligible to apply for emergency loans.
Excessive Moisture
Producers who suffered losses due to excessive moisture that occurred between July 15, 2018, and Dec. 2, 2018, in Belknap, Cheshire, Hillsborough, Merrimack, Rockingham, Strafford and Sullivan counties are eligible to apply for emergency loans.
Producers in the contiguous New Hampshire counties of Carroll and Grafton, along with York County, Maine; Essex, Franklin, Middlesex and Worcester counties in Massachusetts; and Windham and Windsor counties in Vermont, are also eligible to apply for emergency loans.
The deadline to apply for these emergency loans is Nov. 12, 2019.
FSA will review the loans based on the extent of losses, security available and repayment ability.
FSA has a variety of additional programs to help farmers recover from the impacts of this disaster. FSA programs that do not require a disaster declaration include: Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees and Farm-Raised Fish Program; Emergency Conservation Program; Livestock Forage Disaster Program; Livestock Indemnity Program; Operating and Farm Ownership Loans; and the Tree Assistance Program.
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 farmers.gov/recover.
