Release No. 0014.12

WASHINGTON, Jan. 30, 2012 — The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has designated 15 counties in Indiana as primary natural disaster areas due to losses caused by the combined effects of drought and excessive heat that occurred during the period of July 1, 2011, through Oct. 18, 2011. Those counties are:

“Indiana farmers have experienced drought and excessive heat conditions over a long period of time, which has caused major losses to a wide variety of crops such as grain and forage crops, pasture and some specialty crops,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. “President Obama and I are committed to using the resources at our disposal to reduce the impact of these disasters on Indiana producers and help to get those affected back on their feet”

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

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

Clark, Crawford, Edgar, Gallatin, Lawrence, Vermillion, Wabash and White

Boone, Breckinridge, Carroll, Daviess, Gallatin, Hancock, Henderson, Meade, Trimble and Union

Branch and St. Joseph

Butler, Darke, Defiance, Hamilton, Mercer, Paulding, Preble and Van Wert

All counties listed above were designated natural disaster areas Jan. 27, 2012, 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.

USDA also has made other programs available to assist farmers and ranchers, including the Supplemental Revenue Assistance Program (SURE), which was approved as part of the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008; the Emergency Conservation Program; Federal Crop Insurance; and the Noninsured Crop Disaster 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.

Secretary Vilsack also reminds producers that the department’s authority to operate the five disaster assistance programs authorized by the 2008 Farm Bill expired on Sept. 30, 2011.This includes SURE; the Livestock Indemnity Program (LIP); the Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honey Bees, and Farm-Raised Fish (ELAP); the Livestock Forage Disaster Program (LFP); and the Tree Assistance Program (TAP). Production losses in the counties listed above are covered because the event triggering the loss occurred prior to the expiration of these programs; however, production losses due to disasters occurring after Sept. 30, 2011, are not eligible for disaster program coverage.

FSA news releases are available on FSA’s website at www.fsa.usda.gov via the “News and Events” link.

USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer and lender. To file a complaint of discrimination, write: USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Ave. SW, Washington, D.C. 20250-9410 or call (800) 795-3272 (voice), or (202) 720-6382 (TDD).