The U.S. Department of Agriculture has designated Hillsborough County and Cheshire County as primary natural disaster areas due to losses caused by freeze and unseasonably warm temperatures that occurred from Feb. 1 through April 30 this year.
Qualified farm operators in the counties will be eligible for low interest emergency loans from USDA’s Farm Service Agency, provided eligibility requirements are met. Farmers will have eight months from the date of the declaration to apply for loans to help cover part of their actual losses.
Other programs that can provide assistance, but do not require a disaster declaration, include the Emergency Conservation Program; Livestock Forage Disaster Program; Livestock Indemnity Program; 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. Information is also available online at http://disaster.fsa.usda.gov.