U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue has designated three Arizona counties as natural disaster areas because of recent drought conditions. Those counties are: Coconino, Navajo and Apache.
Perdue also has declared numerous counties across Utah and a few select counties in Nevada, New Mexico and Colorado as natural disaster areas.
The declarations mean farmers who suffered financial losses during the drought may be eligible for federal Department of Agriculture and Farm Service Agency loans.
Emergency loans can be used to meet various recovery needs including the replacement of essential items such as equipment or livestock, reorganization of a farming operation or the refinance of certain debts.
The deadline to apply for these emergency loans is July 6, 2020.
FSA will review the loans based on the extent of losses, security available and repayment ability.
Farmers may contact their local USDA service center for further information on eligibility requirements and application procedures for these and other programs. Additional information is also available online at farmers.gov/recover.
