Counties Receive Disaster Designation
June 8, 2007, As a result of extremely cold temperatures that occurred April 5-10, some Tennessee counties have received a disaster designation from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Rep. Bart Gordon announced.
“Middle Tennessee’s farmers work hard to earn a living, but Mother Nature sometimes makes it even harder,” said Gordon. “As a result of this disaster declaration, some farmers may now be eligible for emergency loans to cope with their losses.
“I appreciate the USDA’s response to this situation.”
Kentucky Gov. Ernie Fletcher requested a disaster designation for all counties in the Commonwealth of Kentucky on April 17. The USDA reviewed the damage assessment report and determined there were enough losses to warrant the designation in all but two Kentucky counties, Leslie and McCreary.
Clay, Macon, Robertson and Sumner counties were among the counties in Tennessee that received a declaration because they border Kentucky counties that were considered primary natural disaster areas.
The designation makes farm operators in both primary and contiguous counties eligible to be considered for low-interest emergency loans from the Farm Service Agency, provided eligibility requirements are met.
Affected farmers can call the local FSA office for further information at.
