USDA Designates Almost All California Drought Disaster Area
February 5, 2015 
The USDA has designated 55 of the 58 counties in California as primary natural disaster areas due to damages and losses caused by a recent drought.
Farmers and ranchers in Del Norte, Imperial, and San Francisco counties in California also qualify for natural disaster assistance because their counties are contiguous.
“Our hearts go out to those California farmers and ranchers affected by recent natural disasters,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. “President Obama and I are committed to ensuring that agriculture remains a bright spot in our nation’s economy by sustaining the successes of America’s farmers, ranchers, and rural communities through these difficult times. We’re also telling California producers that USDA stands with you and your communities when severe weather and natural disasters threaten to disrupt your livelihood.”
Farmers and ranchers in the following counties in Arizona, Nevada and Oregon also qualify for natural disaster assistance because their counties are contiguous. Those counties are:
Arizona
La Paz and Mohave
Nevada
| Carson City | Clark | Douglas | Esmeralda |
| Lyon | Mineral | Nye | Washoe |
Oregon
| Jackson | Josephine | Klamath | Lake |
All counties listed above were designated natural disaster areas on Feb. 4, 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.
Additional information also is also at http://disaster.fsa.usda.gov.
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