Four Counties and Independent City in VA Designated as Primary Natural Disaster Areas

WASHINGTON  — The U.S. Department of Agriculture has designated four counties in Virginia as natural disaster areas because of losses caused two separate disaster conditions.

Craig, Frederick and Page counties have been designated primary natural disaster areas because of losses caused by excessive heat that occurred May 1, 2011, through Sept. 30, 2011.

“ Virginia producers can continue to count on USDA to provide emergency assistance during difficult times,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. “ America ’s farmers and rural communities are vitally important to our nation’s economy, producing the food, feed, fiber and fuel that continue to help us grow. President Obama and I are committed to using the resources at our disposal to reduce the impact of this disaster on Virginia producers and help to get those affected back on their feet.”

Farmers and ranchers in the following counties and city in Virginia also qualify for natural disaster assistance because their counties are contiguous:

Independent city:
Winchester

Farmers and ranchers in the following counties in West Virginia also qualify for natural disaster assistance because their counties are contiguous:

Berkeley, Hampshire, Hardy, Monroe, Jefferson and Morgan

Prince George County has been designated as a primary natural disaster area because of losses caused by Hurricane Irene that occurred from Aug. 27-28, 2011.

Farmers and ranchers in the following counties and cities in Virginia also qualify for natural disaster assistance because their counties are contiguous:

Charles City , Chesterfield , Dinwiddie, Surry and Sussex

Independent cities:
Colonial Heights , Hopewell and Petersburg

All counties listed above were designated natural disaster areas Jan. 20, 2012, making all qualified farm operators in the designated areas eligible for low interest emergency (EM) loans from USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA), 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.

USDA also has made other programs available to assist farmers and ranchers, including the Supplemental Revenue Assistance Program (SURE), which was approved as part of the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008; the Emergency Conservation Program; Federal Crop Insurance; and the Noninsured Crop Disaster 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.

Secretary Vilsack also reminds producers that the Department’s authority to operate the five disaster assistance programs authorized by the 2008 Farm Bill expired on September 30, 2011. This includes SURE; the Livestock Indemnity Program (LIP); the Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honey Bees, and Farm-Raised Fish (ELAP); the Livestock Forage Disaster Program (LFP); and the Tree Assistance Program (TAP). Production losses in the counties listed above are covered because the event triggering the loss occurred prior to the expiration of these programs. However, production losses due to disasters occurring after September 30, 2011 are not eligible for disaster program coverage.