Washington  (USDA)  U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue has designated 16 North Dakota counties as primary natural disaster areas.

Emergency support to producers in surrounding counties, including counties in border states, is also available. Producers suffering losses from five separate WHIP+ eligible disaster events may now be eligible for U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA) emergency loans.

In The Region:

Counties Affected by Excessive Snow, Excessive Moisture, and Flooding
Producers in Barnes, Dickey, and Logan counties who suffered losses due to excessive snow, excessive moisture, and flooding that occurred Jan. 1, 2019, through Dec. 6, 2019, are eligible to apply for emergency loans.

Producers in the contiguous North Dakota counties of Cass, Emmons, Griggs, Kidder, LaMoure, McIntosh, Ransom, Sargent, Steele, and Stutsman, along with Brown and McPherson counties in South Dakota, are also eligible to apply for emergency loans.

Forty-seven of North Dakota’s 53 counties were previously approved for a secretarial disaster designation. The remaining six counties are now covered with this designation, making all of North Dakota eligible.

The deadline to apply for these emergency loans is Oct. 28, 2020. FSA considers each loan based on the extent of losses, security available and repayment ability.

For further information on eligibility requirements and application procedures, please go to www.farmers.gov/recover.