WASHINGTON, June 7, 2019 — Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue designated 28 Colorado counties as primary natural disaster areas. Producers who suffered losses caused by recent drought may be eligible for U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA) emergency loans.

U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Https

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

USDA Designates 28 Colorado Counties as Primary Natural Disaster Areas

Contact: FPAC.BC.Press@usda.gov

Emergency Support to Producers in Surrounding Counties/Border States Also Available

WASHINGTON, June 7, 2019 — Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue designated 28 Colorado counties as primary natural disaster areas. Producers who suffered losses caused by recent drought may be eligible for U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA) emergency loans

The Colorado counties with the primary natural disaster designation include Alamosa, Archuleta, Clear Creek, Conejos, Costilla, Delta, Dolores, Eagle, Garfield, Grand, Gunnison, Hinsdale, Jackson, La Plata, Mesa, Mineral, Moffat, Montezuma, Montrose, Ouray, Pitkin, Rio Blanco, Rio Grande, Routt, Saguache, San Juan, San Miguel and Summit. 

This natural disaster designation allows FSA to extend much-needed emergency credit to producers recovering from natural disasters. 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. 

Producers in the contiguous Colorado counties of Boulder, Chaffee, Custer, Fremont, Gilpin, Huerfano, Jefferson, Lake, Larimer, Las Animas and Park, along with Apache County, Arizona; Colfax, Rio Arriba, San Juan and Taos counties in New Mexico; Daggett, Grand, San Juan and Uintah counties in Utah; and Albany, Carbon and Sweetwater counties in Wyoming, are also eligible to apply for emergency loans. 

The deadline to apply for these emergency loans is Jan. 30, 2020. 

FSA will review the loans based on the extent of losses, security available and repayment ability. 

FSA has a variety of additional programs to help farmers recover from the impacts of this disaster. FSA programs that do not require a disaster declaration include: Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees and Farm-Raised Fish Program; Emergency Conservation Program; Livestock Forage Disaster Program; Livestock Indemnity Program; Operating and Farm Ownership Loans; and the Tree Assistance Program.

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.

USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer and lender.