12-29 FB FSA Teton Disaster

 Farmers in Teton, Bonneville, Fremont, and Madison counties have until August 17, 2011 to apply for emergency loan assistance. The Idaho State Emergency Board (SEB) has received notification from USDA that the request made through the office of Governor Butch Otter for an agricultural disaster declaration for Teton County has been approved.

 Dick Rush, SEB Chair and State Executive Director for the Farm Service Agency said that USDA has designated Teton County and three contiguous counties as natural disaster areas due to losses caused by unseasonal freezing, rain and hail during August and September of 2010 adversely affecting grains and other crops in the area. Dick says the amount can be pretty sizeable: The loan program they can be eligible to up to $300,000, they’ve gotta’ have a 30% loss below what they would normally expect. Interest rate’s about 3.75%”.   This assistance includes FSA emergency loans as well as the Supplemental Revenue Assistance Payments (SURE) Program.