The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has designated three counties in Kansas as primary natural disaster areas due to losses and damages caused by multiple disasters that occurred during the 2017 crop year.

Designation Number 1: USDA has designated Marshall and Nemaha counties in Kansas as primary natural disaster areas due to losses and damages caused by drought that occurred during May 1, 2017, and continues.

Farmers and ranchers in Brown, Jackson, Pottawatomie, Riley and Washington counties in Kansas also qualify for natural disaster assistance because their counties are contiguous. Farmers and ranchers in Gage, Pawnee and Richardson counties in Nebraska also qualify for natural disaster assistance because their counties are contiguous.

Designation Number 2: USDA has designated Trego County in Kansas also qualify for natural disaster assistance because their county is contiguous.

Farmers and ranchers in Ellis, Gove, Graham, Ness and Rooks counties in Kansas also qualify for natural disaster assistance because their counties are contiguous.

All counties listed above were designated natural disaster areas on Nov. 13, 2017, making all qualified farm operators in the designated areas eligible for FSA’s emergency (EM) loans, 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.

Other FSA programs that can provide assistance, but do not require a disaster declaration, include Operating and Farm Ownership Loans; the Emergency Conservation Program; Livestock Forage Disaster Program; Livestock Indemnity Program; Emergency Assistance for Livestock,

Honeybees and Farm-Raised Fish Program; and the Tree 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. FSA news releases are available on FSA’s website at www.fsa.usda.gov via the “Newsroom” link.