Farm Service Agency (FSA) State Executive Director, Dan Steinkruger, announced 17 counties have been designated as contiguous natural disaster areas due to the ongoing drought affecting Colorado, Kansas and Missouri. Those counties are:
 

Contiguous to Missouri: Nemaha, Otoe, Richardson

Contiguous to Kansas: Dundy, Franklin, Furnas, Harlan, Hitchcock, Nuckolls, Red Willow, Webster

Contiguous to Colorado: Chase, Cheyenne, Deuel, Dundy, Keith, Kimball, Perkins

These counties were declared a Secretarial Disaster on January 9, 2013, based on their adjoining primary disaster areas in the specific state. No county in Nebraska has been declared a primary disaster area as the grazing period has not yet begun in Nebraska. “We anticipate that if drought conditions continue and as we approach the established Nebraska grazing period of May 1 through October 27, a Secretarial Designation will be considered at that time,” said Steinkruger.

A current Nebraska map listing the approved counties is available on the Nebraska FSA website at www.fsa.usda.gov/ne.

This designation authorizes Emergency (EM) Loans for eligible producers. Steinkruger stated, “Producers are encouraged to contact their local FSA Service Center for detailed information about available programs and updated Secretarial Disaster Designations.”

In addition to the Emergency (EM) Loan Program, the FSA has other loan programs and disaster assistance programs which can be considered in assisting farmers to recover from their losses.

Contact your local FSA Service Center or access additional information about FSA Disaster Assistance and Farm Loan programs at www.fsa.usda.gov.

While this release pertains to the availability of FSA programs, other federal agencies such as FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) and SBA (Small Business Administration) may also have assistance to the public. Information is available from these two agencies at the following websites: www.fema.gov and www.sba.gov.