Press Release 08/10/2006
Contact: Public Affairs (404) 656-3689
Irvin Wants Quick Decision from Secretary Johanns
Georgia Commissioner of Agriculture Tommy Irvin today announced that damage assessment reports for 155 counties suffering agricultural damage from the effects of drought and excessive heat have been completed, reviewed by the State Emergency Board, and forwarded to the U.S. Department of Agriculture to support the governor’s request for a Secretarial Agricultural Designation for those qualifying counties.
Fannin, Gilmer, Towns and Union counties deferred to submit damage assessment reports until harvest. These four counties may be eligible as contiguous counties and may submit reports at a later date to qualify as primary disaster counties.
To receive a disaster designation, a county must have incurred a loss of 30 percent or more in dollar value for all crops, or of a single crop or group of crops, such as all feed crops or all fruit crops.
Once a county receives a disaster designation by the Secretary of Agriculture, all farmers in the county become eligible to apply to the USDA Farm Service Agency for low-interest emergency loans. Although all farmers are eligible to apply, they do not automatically qualify for the loans. Each farmer must meet individual eligibility requirements.
The Farm Service Agency will consider each loan application on its own merits, taking into account the extent of losses, security available and repayment ability. Local FSA offices can provide affected farmers in the designated counties with further information and assist them in completing loan applications.
“It generally takes two to three weeks from the time the documentation is received by the Secretary for the request to be approved or denied in writing,” Irvin said. “Now that the reports have been sent to Secretary (Mike) Johanns, I have asked the governor and our Congressional delegation to encourage the Secretary to declare a disaster designation for all qualifying counties as soon as possible.”
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