NEWS
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Office of Communications News Room 460-A
Washington, DC 20250-1300
Internet: News@usda.gov Phone: 202-720-9035
World Wide Web Home Page: http://www.usda.gov
Release No. 0147.02
Dann Stuart (202) 690-0474
USDA ANNOUNCES EMERGENCY LOANS FOR FARMERS IN
13 SOUTH DAKOTA COUNTIES
WASHINGTON, April 15, 2002 -- Agriculture Secretary Ann
M. Veneman today announced that USDA is offering emergency
farm loans to farmers in 13 South Dakota counties who
suffered economic losses as the result of extreme heat and
drought conditions that began June 1, 2001.
"These loans will help South Dakota farmers recover
from losses suffered from natural disasters," said Secretary
Veneman.
Haakon, Meade and Pennington counties were named as
primary disaster areas on April 5, 2002. Farmers in Butte,
Custer, Dewey, Jackson, Jones, Lawrence, Perkins, Shannon,
Stanley and Ziebach counties are eligible because the
counties are contiguous.
This designation makes all qualified farm operators in
primary and contiguous disaster counties eligible for low-
interest EM loans from USDA's Farm Service Agency, provided
eligibility requirements are met. Farmers in eligible
counties have eight months from the date of this declaration
to apply for the 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 available, in addition to
the emergency loan program, to help eligible farmers recover
from adversity. Interested farmers may contact their local
FSA offices for further information on eligibility
requirements and application procedures. Additional
information is also available online at:
http://www.fsa.usda.gov/pas/disaster/assistance1.htm
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