USDA Designates 13 Iowa Counties as Disaster Areas Due to Drought

A Secretarial Disaster Designation has been issued for three (3) counties in Iowa as primary disaster areas for drought. Additionally, 10 Iowa counties are contiguous to the disaster area. This determination will allow the Farm Service Agency’s Emergency Loans to be made available to eligible family farmers with qualifying production and physical losses in the primary and the contiguous counties to the declared disaster area.

Secretarial Declaration Number: S5447
Emergency Loan Application Deadline: March 5, 2024

USDA Announces More Than 3.4 Million Acres Selected for General Signup Conservation Reserve Program

Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue today announced the acceptance of more than 3.4 million acres in the general Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) signup recently completed, the first general signup enrollments since 2016. County offices will begin notifying producers with accepted offers no later than April 3.

Biden Administration Appoints Thaddeus Fairley to Serve as State Executive Director for USDA’s Farm Service Agency in Mississippi

WASHINGTON, Nov. 08, 2021— The Biden Administration recently appointed Thaddeus Fairley as the new State Executive Director (SED) for the USDA Mississippi Farm Service Agency (FSA). Fairley joined the Mississippi FSA team on Nov. 8, 2021. 

SBA Economic Injury Disaster Loans Available to Montana Small Businesses

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Small nonfarm businesses in the following counties are now eligible to apply for low‑interest federal disaster loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration. These loans offset economic losses because of reduced revenues caused drought that occurred in the following primary counties in Montana and neighboring counties in North Dakota and Idaho, announced Associate Administrator Francisco Sánchez of the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Office of Disaster Recovery & Resilience. 

Availability of Low Interest Physical Loss Loans for Producers Affected by Natural Disasters

Physical loss loans can help producers repair or replace damaged or destroyed physical property essential to the success of the agricultural operation, including livestock losses. Examples of property commonly affected include essential farm buildings, fixtures to real estate, equipment, livestock, perennial crops, fruit and nut bearing trees and harvested or stored crops and hay.

State: Mississippi

Triggering Disaster Event: Hurricane Ida or related conditions that occurred Aug. 29, 2021, through Aug. 31, 2021.

USDA Designates Two Texas Counties as Primary Natural Disaster Areas

This Secretarial natural disaster designation allows the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA) to extend much-needed emergency credit to producers recovering from natural disasters through emergency 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.

USDA Reopens Signup for Continuous Conservation Reserve Program

HARRISBURG, PENNSYLVANIA, Jan. 16, 2024 – The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is now accepting applications for the Continuous Conservation Reserve Program (Continuous CRP) signup. USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) encourages agricultural producers and landowners in Pennsylvania who are interested in conservation opportunities for their land in exchange for yearly rental payments to consider the enrollment options available through Continuous CRP, which also includes the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) offered by FSA partners.