USDA DESIGNATES COUNTIES IN ARIZONA AS NATURAL DISASTER AREAS

Decision Allows Farmers and Ranchers to Apply for USDA Assistance

WASHINGTON, May 16, 2006 – The U.S. Department of Agriculture designated all counties in Arizona, except La Paz County, as primary natural disaster areas due to drought that occurred from Jan. 1, 2006, and continuing, making all qualified farm operators in the designated areas eligible for low-interest emergency

(EM)

loans from USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA).

La Paz County is also eligible for USDA assistance because it shares borders with other affected counties Maricopa, Mohave, Yavapai, and Yuma.

The following counties in adjacent states are also eligible because they are

contiguous:

California

Imperial and San Bernardino Counties

Colorado

Montezuma County

Nevada

Clark and Lincoln Counties

New Mexico

Catron, Cibola, Grant, Hidalgo, McKinley and San Juan Counties

Utah

Kane, San Juan and Washington Counties

All counties listed above were designated natural disaster areas on May 9, 2006, making all qualified farm operators in the designated areas 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.

Interested farmers may contact their local USDA Service Centers for further information on eligibility requirements and application procedures for these and other programs.

http://disaster.fsa.usda.gov.

http://www.fsa.udsa.gov.