HELENA, Mont. — The U.S. Department of Agriculture has designated 10 Montana counties as primary natural disaster areas following severe drought conditions during the current growing season, opening the door to emergency federal loan assistance for affected farm operators.
In a letter dated May 19 and addressed to Gov. Greg Gianforte, USDA Deputy Under Secretary Brooke Appleton notified the state that Beaverhead, Cascade, Chouteau, Glacier, Hill, Liberty, Madison, Pondera, Teton, and Toole counties had met the federal threshold for a Secretarial disaster designation. According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, the affected counties experienced either D2 Severe Drought conditions for eight or more consecutive weeks during the growing season, or conditions rising to D3 Extreme or D4 Exceptional Drought levels.
The designation makes farm operators in the 10 primary counties, as well as those in 11 contiguous Montana counties, eligible to apply for Farm Service Agency emergency loan assistance. Eleven additional Montana counties — Blaine, Deer Lodge, Fergus, Flathead, Gallatin, Jefferson, Judith Basin, Lewis and Clark, Meagher, Ravalli, and Silver Bow — were named as contiguous disaster counties, along with Clark, Fremont, and Lemhi counties in Idaho.
Eligible farmers have eight months from the date of the Secretarial declaration to submit emergency loan applications. The FSA evaluates each application individually, weighing the extent of production losses sustained on the farm as well as the operator’s financial security and repayment capacity.
Affected producers are encouraged to contact their local FSA office for additional information. The designation carries reference number OES-1102.
By: Big Sky Broadcasting Newswire