Severe Drought
USDA Adds Two More Idaho Counties to the List of Primary Disaster Areas.
"An expedited process for drought was introduced in 2012," said Idaho State Executive Director Mark Samson. "It occurs when, during the growing season, any portion of a county meets the D2 (Severe Drought) drought intensity value for eight consecutive weeks as reported in the US Drought Monitor. The 15 counties in Idaho that have primary designations fall under this expedited process."
Spokesperson Candy Moore: "The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has designated Clark and Jefferson counties in Idaho as primary natural disaster areas due to damages and losses caused by drought. This brings the total Idaho Counties that carry Primary Disaster Designations to 15."
All counties listed were designated natural disaster areas 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.
