NEWS

Farm Service Agency

Public Affairs Staff

1400 Independence Ave SW

Stop 0506, Room 3624-South

Washington, D.C. 20250-0506

Release No. 1425.06

Latawnya Dia (202) 720-7962

USDA DESIGNATES COUNTIES IN INDIANA, OKLAHOMA, SOUTH DAKOTA, TEXAS AND VIRGINIA AS NATURAL DISASTER AREAS

Decision Allows Farmers and Ranchers to Apply for USDA Assistance

Indiana

In Indiana, 24 counties were designated as primary disaster areas due to losses caused by drought that occurred from May 1, 2005, through Aug. 31, 2005. Those counties are:

Bartholomew Harrison Lake Scott

Clark Jackson Newton St. Joseph

Crawford Jasper Ohio Starke

Dearborn Jefferson Orange Switzerland

Elkhart Kosciusko Porter Warrick

Floyd La Porte Posey Washington

Also eligible because they are contiguous and have sustained production losses due to the same disaster conditions are the following counties:

Benton Fulton Lawrence Perry Spencer

Brown Gibson Marshall Pike Vanderburgh

Decatur Jennings Martin Pulaski Wabash

Dubois Johnson Monroe Ripley White

Franklin LaGrange Noble Shelby Whitley

All Indiana counties listed above were designated natural disaster areas on Jan. 17, 2006.

Oklahoma

The entire State of Oklahoma was designated as a primary disaster area due to losses caused by drought, high temperature, high winds and fire that occurred from July 1, 2005, and continuing.

All Oklahoma counties listed above were designated natural disaster areas on Feb. 28, 2006.

South Dakota

In South Dakota, Lawrence County was designated as a primary disaster area due to losses caused by drought, late spring frosts, extreme heat, high winds, hail and prairie fires that occurred from Jan. 1, 2005, and continuing.

Also eligible because they are contiguous and have sustained production losses due to the same disaster conditions are Butte, Meade and Pennington Counties.

All South Dakota counties listed above were designated natural disaster areas on Jan. 17, 2006.

Texas

In Texas, 20 counties were designated as primary disaster areas. Bee, DeWitt, Hood and Somervell were designated as primary disaster areas due to losses caused by drought that occurred from June 1, 2005, and continuing.

Also eligible because they are contiguous and have sustained production losses due to the same disaster conditions are the following counties:

Bosque Gonzales Lavaca Parker Victoria

Erath Johnson Live Oak Refugio Wilson

Goliad Karnes Palo Pinto San Patricio

The following eight counties were designated as primary disaster areas due to losses caused by drought that occurred from April 1, 2005, and

continuing:

Brazos Freestone LaSalle Stephens

Dimmit Guadalupe Madison Zavala

Also eligible because they are contiguous and have sustained production losses due to the same disaster conditions are the following counties:

Anderson Eastland Kinney Palo Pinto Webb

Atascosa Frio Leon Robertson Wilson

Bexar Gonzales Limestone Shackelford Young

Burleson Grimes Maverick Throckmorton

Caldwell Hays McMullen Uvalde

Comal Henderson Medina Walker

Duval Houston Navarro Washington

Edwards and Hamilton Counties were designated as primary disaster areas due to losses caused by drought that occurred from Sept. 1, 2005, and continuing.

Also eligible because they are contiguous and have sustained production losses due to the same disaster conditions are the following counties:

Bosque Erath Kinney Real Val Verde

Comanche Kerr Lampasas Sutton

Coryell Kimble Mills Uvalde

Hall County was designated as a primary disaster area due to losses caused by excessive rain, hail and high winds that occurred on Oct. 10, 2005.

Also eligible because they are contiguous and have sustained production losses due to the same disaster conditions are Briscoe, Childress, Collingsworth, Cottle, Donley and Motley Counties.

Hardeman County was designated as a primary disaster area due to losses caused by drought that occurred from Jan. 1, 2005, and continuing.

Also eligible because they are contiguous and have sustained production losses due to the same disaster conditions are Childress, Cottle, Foard and Wilbarger Counties.

Medina County was designated as a primary disaster area due to losses caused by drought and excessive heat that occurred from April 1, 2005, and continuing.

Also eligible because they are contiguous and have sustained production losses due to the same disaster conditions are Atascosa, Bandera, Bexar, Frio, Uvalde and Zavala Counties.

Montague County was designated as a primary disaster area due to losses caused by drought that occurred from Aug. 1, 2005, and continuing.

Also eligible because they are contiguous and have sustained production losses due to the same disaster conditions are Clay, Cooke, Jack and Wise Counties.

Runnels County was designated as a primary disaster area due to losses caused by drought and excessive temperatures that occurred from May 1, 2005, and continuing.

Also eligible because they are contiguous and have sustained production losses due to the same disaster conditions are Coke, Coleman, Concho, Nolan, Taylor and Tom Green Counties.

Williamson County was designated as a primary disaster area due to losses caused by drought that occurred from Apr. 15, 2005, and continuing.

Also eligible because they are contiguous and have sustained production losses due to the same disaster conditions are Bastrop, Bell, Burnet, Lee, Milam and Travis Counties.

Zapata County was designated as a primary disaster area due to losses caused by drought and excessive heat that occurred from Jan. 1, 2005, and continuing.

Also eligible because they are contiguous and have sustained production losses due to the same disaster conditions are Jim Hogg, Starr and Webb Counties.

All Texas counties listed above were designated natural disaster areas on Jan. 17, 2006.

Eligible producers participating in the Conservation Reserve Program in the counties listed above may be authorized emergency haying and grazing acreage, provided eligibility requirements are met.

Virginia

In Virginia, six counties were designated as primary disaster areas due to losses caused by drought and high temperatures that occurred from June 1, 2005, and continuing. Those counties are Culpeper, Goochland, Grayson, King William, Surry and Washington Counties.

Also eligible because they are contiguous and have sustained production losses due to the same disaster conditions are the following counties and independent cities:

Counties:

Caroline Fluvanna Louis Rappahannock Stafford

Carroll Hanover Madison Russell Sussex

Charles City Henrico New Kent Scott Wythe

Chesterfield Isle of Wight Orange Smyth

Cumberland James City Powhatan Southampton

Fauquier King and Queen Prince George Spotsylvania

Independent cities include Bristol, Galax and Newport News.

All Virginia counties and cities listed above were designated natural disaster areas on Feb.

28, 2006.

All counties and cities listed above were designated natural disaster areas, making all qualified farm operators eligible for EM loans, provided eligibility requirements are met. Farmers in eligible counties have eight months from the date of the declaration to apply for the 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 available, in addition to the emergency loan program, to help eligible farmers recover from adversity. USDA has also made other programs available to assist farmers and ranchers, including the Emergency Conservation Program, Federal Crop Insurance and the Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program.

FSA news releases and media advisories are available on FSA’s Web site: