The U.S. Department of Agriculture has designated nine counties in Nevada as primary natural disaster areas due to the drought. The counties included are Lyon, Washoe, Churchill, Mineral, Lander, Pershing, Clark, Nye and Humboldt.
Farmers and ranchers in Carson City, Douglas and Storey counties as well as Esmeralda, Lincoln, White Pine, Elko and Eureka counties also qualify for natural disaster assistance because their counties are contiguous.
"Our hearts go out to those Nevada farmers and ranchers affected by recent natural disasters,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. “President Obama and I are committed to ensuring that agriculture remains a bright spot in our nation’s economy by sustaining the successes of America’s farmers, ranchers, and rural communities through these difficult times. We’re also telling Nevada producers that USDA stands with you and your communities when severe weather and natural disasters threaten to disrupt your livelihood.”
Farmers and ranchers in the following counties in California also qualify for natural disaster assistance because their counties are contiguous. Those counties are Inyo, Modoc, Nevada, San Bernardino, Lassen, Mono, Placer and Sierra.
Idaho counties included are Owyhee and Oregon counties included are Harney, Lake and Malheur.
All counties listed above were designated natural disaster areas on Jan. 15, 2014, making all qualified farm operators in the designated areas eligible for low interest emergency 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.
Additional programs available to assist farmers and ranchers include 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.