July 9, 2015 - Applications for emergency farm loans for damages and losses caused by severe storms, tornadoes, straight-line winds and flooding, are being accepted at the Farm Service Agency (FSA) offices located in Nacogdoches, Jasper, Livingston and Carthage, TX, FSA Farm Loan Manager, Lisa R. Burgay, said today.
Angelina, Nacogdoches, Shelby, San Augustine, Sabine, Jasper, Newton, San Jacinto, Tyler, Panola, Polk and Trinity Counties are twelve (12) of the fifty seven (57) counties in Texas recently named by President Obama as eligible for loans to cover part of actual production and physical losses resulting from severe storms, tornadoes, straight-line winds and flooding.
Ms. Burgay said farmers may be eligible for loans of up to 100% of their actual losses or the operating loan needed to continue the agricultural business, whichever is less. For farmers unable to obtain credit from private commercial lenders, the interest rate is 3.75 percent.
“As a general rule, a farmer must have suffered at least a 30 percent loss of production to be eligible for an FSA emergency loan,” Ms. Burgay said. Farmers participating in the Federal Crop Insurance program will have to consider proceeds from those programs in determining their loss.
“Applications for loans under this emergency designation will be accepted until August 13, 2016, but farmers should apply as soon as possible. Delays in applying could create backlogs in processing, with possible delays into the new farming season,” Ms. Burgay said.
FSA is a credit agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. It is authorized to provide disaster emergency loans to recognized farmers who work at and rely on farming for a substantial part of their living. Eligibility is extended to individual farmers who meet U.S. citizenship requirements and to farming partnerships, corporations or cooperatives in which U.S. citizenship requirements are met by individuals holding a majority interest.
The FSA offices are open from 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM, Monday through Friday. Additional Information regarding Disaster Assistance Programs may be found online at http://disaster.fsa.usda.gov.
USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer and lender.
