FSA ACCEPTING EMERGENCY LOAN APPLICATIONS

Kilgore News Herald (TX)

Mar. 21--Applications for emergency farm loans for damages and losses caused by drought occurring November 1, 2019 and continuing are being accepted at the Farm Service Agency office located in Tyler as of today according to Clinton Warrick, Farm Loan Manager.

Gregg, Rusk and Upshur Counties are 3 out of 154 counties in Texas recently named by President Trump, eligible for loans to cover part of actual production and/or physical losses resulting from the disaster.

Warrick stated that farmers may be eligible for loans of up to 100% of their actual losses or the operating loan needed to continue the agricultural business, whichever is less. For farmers unable to obtain credit from private commercial lenders, the interest rate is 3.250%.

"As a general rule, a farmer must have suffered at least a 30% loss of crop production or suffered any physical loss to be eligible for an FSA emergency loan under the disaster designation", stated Warrick. Producers participating in the Federal Crop Insurance Program will have to consider proceeds from those programs in determining their production loss. Additionally, any insurance proceeds received by producers as a result of the physical loss must be considered in determining their total loss.

"Applications for loans under this emergency designation will be accepted until November 7, 2020, but farmers should apply as soon as possible. Delays in applying could create backlogs in processing, with possible delays into the new farming seasons." Warrick said.

FSA is a credit agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. It is authorized to provide disaster emergency loans to recognized farms who work at and rely on farming for a substantial part of their living. Eligibility is extended to individual farms who meet U.S. citizenship requirements and to farming partnerships, corporations, or cooperatives in which U.S. citizenship requirements are met by individuals holding a majority interest.

The FSA office is located at 4209 Republic Drive, Tyler, TX 75701. The telephone number is (903) 405-5676 with office hours from 8:00 am to 4:30 pm. Additional information regarding Disaster Assistance Programs may be found online at http://disaster.fsa.usda.gov.