WASHINGTON, May 15, 2017 — In response to a request from Aaron Johnson, Farm Service Agency’s (FSA) acting State Executive Director in Idaho, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has designated Cassie, Jefferson and Minidoka counties in Idaho as primary natural disaster areas due to losses caused by a blizzard, excessive snow, excessive rain, freeze, flooding, flash flooding and high winds that occurred from Dec. 22, 2016, and continues.

 
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United States Department of Agriculture
 Farm Service Agency
United States Department of Agriculture
 Farm Service Agency

USDA Designates Three Counties in Idaho as Primary Natural Disaster Areas with Assistance to Producers in Surrounding States

Release No. 0046.17

Latawnya Dia
202-720-7962
Latawnya.Dia@wdc.usda.gov

WASHINGTON, May 15, 2017 — In response to a request from Aaron Johnson, Farm Service Agency’s (FSA) acting State Executive Director in Idaho, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has designated Cassie, Jefferson and Minidoka counties in Idaho as primary natural disaster areas due to losses caused by a blizzard, excessive snow, excessive rain, freeze, flooding, flash flooding and high winds that occurred from Dec. 22, 2016, and continues.

Farmers and ranchers in the following counties in Idaho also qualify for natural disaster assistance because their counties are contiguous. Those counties are:

BinghamClarkMadison
BlaineFremontOneida
BonnevilleJeromePower
ButteLincolnTwin Falls

Farmers and ranchers in Elko County in Nevada and Box Elder County in Utah also qualify for natural disaster assistance because their counties are contiguous.

All counties listed above were designated natural disaster areas on May 10, 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. 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 from adversity.

Other FSA programs that can provide assistance, but do not require a disaster declaration, include Operating and Farm Ownership Loans; the Emergency Conservation Program; Livestock Forage Disaster Program; Livestock Indemnity Program; Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees and Farm-Raised Fish Program; and the Tree Assistance Program. 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.

FSA news releases are available on FSA’s website at www.fsa.usda.gov via the “Newsroom” link.

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