USDA Designates Six Illinois Counties as Primary Natural Disaster Areas
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA) is extending much-needed emergency credit to producers recovering from natural disasters through the emergency loan program.
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. FSA will review the loans based on the extent of losses, security available, and repayment ability.
According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, these counties suffered from a drought intensity value during the growing season of 1) D2 Drought-Severe for 8 or more consecutive weeks or 2) D3 Drought-Extreme or D4 Drought-Exceptional.
Primary Illinois counties impacted include Cook, Boone, DeKalb, Lake, Kane, McHenry. Contiguous counties also eligible include DuPage, LaSalle, Ogle, Kendall, Lee, and Will Counties in Illinois, Lake County Indiana, and Kenosha, Rock, and Walworth Counties in Wisconsin.
More Resources
On farmers.gov, the Disaster Assistance Discovery Tool, Disaster-at-a-Glance fact sheet, and Farm Loan Discovery Tool can help farmers determine program or loan options. To file a Notice of Loss or to ask questions about available programs, contact your local USDA Service Center.