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USDA declares additional parishes as natural disaster areas

USDA declares additional parishes as natural disaster areas
Baton Rouge, La. (Nov. 16, 2016) – The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA) recently added Bossier, Caddo and Concordia parishes to the list of parishes already designated as primary natural disaster areas due to losses caused by severe storms and flooding that occurred from Aug. 11-31, 2016.
Farmers and ranchers in primary natural disaster areas are eligible for low-interest emergency (EM) loans from USDA’s FSA, provided eligibility requirements are met. Farmers in eligible areas 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.
Farmers and ranchers in the following parishes also qualify for natural disaster assistance because they are contiguous. The following parishes are: Avoyelles, Bienville, Catahoula, Desoto, Pointe Coupee, Red River, Tensas, Webster and West Feliciana.
Contiguous counties were also declared in Ark., Miss. and Texas.
Local FSA offices can provide affected farmers with additional information or visit http://disaster.fsa.usda.gov