USDA Designates 24 Texas Counties as Primary Natural Disaster Areas

Contact: FPAC.BC.Press@usda.gov

Emergency Support to Producers in Surrounding Counties Also Available

WASHINGTON, Sept. 18, 2019 — Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue designated 24 Texas as primary natural disaster areas. Producers due to recent disasters may be eligible for U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Farm Service Agency (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.

Excessive Moisture and Flooding

Producers in Armstrong, Bowie, Burleson, Collin, Ellis, Fannin, Floyd, Grayson, Hunt, Jackson, Lipscomb, Matagorda, and Red River counties who suffered losses due excessive moisture and flooding that has occurred since Sept. 1, 2018, may be eligible to apply for emergency loans.

Producers in the Texas counties of Brazoria, Brazos, Briscoe, Calhoun, Carson, Cass, Colorado, Cooke, Crosby, Dallas, Delta, Denton, Dickens, Donley, Franklin, Gray, Hale, Hemphill, Henderson, Hill, Hopkins, Johnson, Kaufman, Lamar, Lavaca, Lee, Lubbock, Milam, Morris, Motley, Navarro, Ochiltree, Potter, Rains, Randall, Roberts, Robertson, Rockwall, Swisher, Tarrant, Titus, Van Zandt, Victoria, Washington, and Wharton, along with Little River and Miller counties in Arkansas, and Beaver, Bryan, Choctaw, Ellis, Love, McCurtain, and Marshall counties in Oklahoma, are also eligible to apply for emergency loans.

The deadline to apply for these emergency loans is May 6, 2020.

Drought

Producers in Briscoe, Castro, Hall, Jim Wells, Nueces, Randall, Refugio, San Patricio, Swisher, Wichita, and Wilbarger counties who suffered losses due to recent drought are eligible to apply for emergency loans.

Producers in the contiguous Texas counties of Aransas, Archer, Armstrong, Baylor, Bee, Briscoe, Brooks, Calhoun, Carson, Castro, Childress, Clay, Collingsworth, Cottle, Deaf Smith, Donley, Duval, Floyd, Foard, Goliad, Hale, Hall, Hardeman, Kleberg, Lamb, Live Oak, Motley, Oldham, Parmer, Potter, Randall, Swisher, and Victoria, along with Cotton, Jackson, and Tillman counties in Oklahoma,  are also eligible to apply for emergency loans.

The deadline to apply for these emergency loans is May 11, 2020.

The Secretary previously announced Duval, Jim Hogg, Webb, and Zapata as designated primary natural disaster areas.

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.