USDA Designates 53 Counties in Indiana as Primary Natural Disaster Areas With Assistance to Producers in Surrounding States

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Kent Politsch, 202-720-7163

 

USDA Designates 53 Counties in Indiana as Primary Natural Disaster Areas

With Assistance to Producers in Surrounding States

 

WASHINGTON, Aug. 12, 2015 — The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has designated 53 counties in Indiana as primary natural disaster areas due to damages and losses caused by excessive rain and flooding that occurred during the period of May 1, 2015, and continues. Those counties are:

 

Adams	Hendricks	LaPorte	Randolph
Allen	Henry	Madison	Ripley
Bartholomew	Howard	Marion	St. Joseph
Blackford	Huntington	Marshall	Scott
Boone	Jackson	Miami	Starke
Brown	Jasper	Monroe	Sullivan
Cass	Jay	Montgomery	Switzerland
Clay	Jefferson	Newton	Tippecanoe
Dearborn	Jennings	Ohio	Vigo
Delaware	Johnson	Pike	Wabash
Fountain	Knox	Porter	Washington
Gibson	Kosciusko	Pulaski	Wayne
Grant	Lake	Putnam	Wells
Greene

 

“Our hearts go out to those Indiana farmers 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 and rural communities through these difficult times. We’re also telling Indiana producers that USDA stands with you and your communities when severe weather and natural disasters threaten to disrupt your livelihood.”

 

Farmers in the following counties in Indiana also qualify for natural disaster assistance because their counties are contiguous. Those counties are:

 

Benton	DeKalb	Hamilton	Orange	Union
Carroll	Dubois	Hancock	Owen	Vanderburgh
Clark	Elkhart	Harrison	Parke	Vermillion
Clinton	Fayette	Lawrence	Posey	Warren
Crawford	Floyd	Martin	Rush	Warrick
Daviess	Franklin	Morgan	Shelby	White
Decatur	Fulton	Noble	Tipton	Whitley

 

Farmers in the following counties in Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan and Ohio also qualify for natural disaster assistance because their counties are contiguous. Those counties are:

 

Illinois

Clark	Crawford	Iroquois	Lawrence	White
Cook	Edgar	Kankakee	Wabash	Will

 

Kentucky

Boone, Carroll, Gallatin and Trimble

 

Michigan

Berrien and Cass

 

Ohio

Butler	Defiance	Mercer	Preble
Darke	Hamilton	Paulding	Van Wert

 

All counties and city listed above were designated natural disaster areas on Aug. 12, 2015, 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 programs available to assist farmers include the Emergency Conservation Program, The Livestock Forage Disaster Program, the Livestock Indemnity Program, the 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.

 

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