NEWS
Farm Service Agency
Public Affairs Staff
1400 Independence Ave SW
Stop 0506, Room 3624-South
Washington, D.C. 20250-0506


									   Release No. 1476.06

								   Latawnya Dia (202) 720-7962

	USDA DESIGNATES COUNTIES IN COLORADO AND NEW YORK AS NATURAL DISASTER AREAS
	     Decision Allows Farmers and Ranchers to Apply for USDA Assistance

WASHINGTON, July 14, 2006 � The U.S. Department of Agriculture designated counties in 
Colorado and New York as primary natural disaster areas, making all qualified farm operators 
in the designated areas eligible for low-interest emergency (EM) loans from USDA�s Farm 
Service Agency 
(FSA).
     
In Colorado, 35 counties were designated as primary natural disaster areas.  Due to losses 
caused by drought, fire, high winds and heat that occurred from Jan. 1, 2006, and continuing, 
the following counties were designated as primary natural disaster areas on July 10, 2006:
     
Adams		Cheyenne	Dolores		Huerfano	Montezuma	Saguache
Alamosa		Conejos		Douglas		Kit Carson	Morgan		San Miguel
Baca		Costilla	Elbert		Lake		Prowers		Weld	
Broomfield	Custer		Fremont		Las Animas	Pueblo
Chaffee		Denver		Hinsdale	Mineral		Rio Grande

Also eligible because they are contiguous are:
     
Arapahoe	Crowley		Jefferson	Lincoln		Ouray		Summit
Archuleta	Eagle		Kiowa		Logan		Park		Teller
Bent		El Paso		La Plata	Montrose	Pitkin		Washington
Boulder		Gunnison	Larimer	Otero	San Juan	Yuma
     
Also because they are contiguous are the following counties in Arizona, Kansas, Nebraska, 
New Mexico and Utah:
    
Arizona
Apache County

Kansas
Cheyenne, Greeley, Hamilton, Morton, Sherman, Stanton and Wallace Counties

Nebraska
Kimball County

New Mexico
Colfax, Rio Arriba, San Juan, Taos and Union Counties

Oklahoma
Cimarron County

Utah
San Juan County

Wyoming
Laramie County
     
Due to losses caused by various disasters including heat, high winds, insect pests, a late 
freeze and ongoing drought that occurred on Jan. 1, 2006, and continuing, the following 
counties were designated as primary natural disaster areas on July 11, 2006:
     
Arapahoe	Boulder		El Paso	Kiowa	Kiowa		Ouray		Teller
Archuleta	Crowley		Gunnison	La Plata	Park		Washington
Bent		Delta		Jefferson	Montrose	Phillips	
    
Also eligible because they are contiguous:
    
Adams		Dolores		Lake		Morgan		San Miguel
Baca		Douglas		Larimer		Otero		Sedgwick
Broomfield	Elbert		Las Animas	Pitkin		Summit
Chaffee		Fremont		Lincoln		Prowers		Weld
Cheyenne	Gilpin		Logan		Pueblo	Yuma
Clear Creek	Grand		Mesa		Rio Grande
Conejos		Hinsdale	Mineral		Saguache	
Denver		Kit Carson	Montezuma	San Juan	

Also because they are contiguous are the following counties in Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico 
and Utah:
     
Kansas
Greeley County

Nebraska
Chase County

New Mexico
Rio Arriba and San Juan Counties

Utah
Grand and San Juan Counties


In New York, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua and Erie Counties were designated as primary natural 
disaster areas on July 10, 2006, due to losses caused by frost that occurred during the period 
April 25, 2006, through April 27, 2006.  Also eligible because they are contiguous are Allegany, 
Genesee, Niagara and Wyoming Counties.
     
The following counties in Pennsylvania are also eligible because they are contiguous: Erie, 
McKean and Warren.

All counties listed above were designated natural disaster areas, 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 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, 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. Additional 
information is also available online at: http://disaster.fsa.usda.gov.
     
FSA news releases and media advisories are available on FSA�s Web site at: http://www.fsa.udsa.gov. 
     
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