Secretary Vilsack Identifies Natural Disaster Areas Due to Drought

Secretary Vilsack designated 14 Washington State counties as primary natural disaster areas due to a recent drought. According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, these counties suffered from a drought intensity value during the growing season of 1) D2 Drought-Severe for 8 or more consecutive weeks or 2) D3 Drought-Extreme or D4 Drought-Exceptional. A Secretarial disaster designation makes farm operators in primary counties and those counties contiguous to such primary counties eligible to be considered for certain assistance from the Farm Service Agency (FSA), provided eligibility requirements are met. This assistance includes FSA emergency loans. Farmers in eligible counties have 8 months from the date of a Secretarial disaster declaration to apply for emergency loans. FSA considers each emergency loan application on its own merits, considering the extent of production losses on the farm and the security and repayment ability of the operator. Local FSA offices can provide affected farmers with further information.

Disaster Designation Areas for Washington and the Contiguous States

Primary Counties - Washington (14): Adams, Garfield, Lincoln, Walla Walla, Asotin, Grant, Spokane, Whitman, Columbia, Kittitas, Stevens, Yakima, Franklin, & Klickitat

Contiguous Counties - Washington (10): Benton, Douglas, King, Okanogan, Pierce, Chelan, Ferry, Lewis, Pend, Oreille, & Skamania

Contiguous Counties in the Adjacent States - Idaho (5): Benewah, Kootenai, Nez Perce, Bonner, & Latah. Oregon (7): Gilliam, Morrow, Umatilla, Wasco, Hood River, Sherman, & Wallow