WASHINGTON, D.C. – Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue designated several New England counties, including Hillsborough County, as natural disaster areas.

Producers in Berkshire, Bristol, Franklin, Hampden, Hampshire and Worcester counties in Massachusetts who suffered losses caused by excessive rainfall and moisture that occurred on or after July 17 may be eligible for U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA) emergency loans.

Producers in the contiguous Massachusetts counties of Dukes, Middlesex, Norfolk and Plymouth, along with Hartford, Litchfield, Tolland and Windham counties in Connecticut; Cheshire and Hillsborough counties in New Hampshire; Columbia, Dutchess and Rensselaer counties in New York; Bristol, Newport and Providence counties in Rhode Island; and Bennington and Windham counties in Vermont, are also eligible to apply for emergency loans.

This natural disaster designation allows the agency to extend much-needed emergency credit to producers recovering from natural disasters. Emergency loans can be used to meet various recovery needs including the replacement of essential items such as equipment or livestock, reorganization of a farming operation or the refinance of certain debts.

The deadline to apply for these emergency loans is Nov. 20.

The agency has a variety of additional programs to help farmers recover from the impacts of this disaster. Agency programs that do not require a disaster declaration include: Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees and Farm-Raised Fish Program; Emergency Conservation Program; Livestock Forage Disaster Program; Livestock Indemnity Program; Operating and Farm Ownership Loans; and the Tree Assistance Program.

Farmers may contact their local USDA service center for further information on eligibility requirements and application procedures for these and other programs. Additional information is also available online at https://www.farmers.gov/recover.

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