Tim Kelley, state executive director, Farm Service Agency announced effective Sept. 5, multiple counties in Missouri, including Daviess, have FSA disaster loans available due to excessive moisture, flooding which occurred March 1, 2008, and continuing.
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Applications for assistance due to physical and production losses caused by this disaster will be accepted at the Daviess County Farm Service Agency in Gallatin. Applications will be accepted through May 5, 2009.
Loans for physical losses must be used to replace or repair damage to buildings, fences or to compensate the farmer for losses of basic livestock, stored crops, or supplies on hand, equipment, etc., that was lost due to the disaster.
Loans for production losses may also be used to buy feed, seed, fertilizer, livestock or to make payments on real estate or chattel debts. Generally, loans for production losses cannot be approved until crops have completed their production cycle or have been harvested.
In order to qualify, a farmer must have suffered a 30% loss in production or an actual physical loss that was essential to the successful operation of the farm.
Loans for actual losses are made at an interest rate of 3.75% for emergency loans to those eligible applicants who are unable to obtain the actual credit needed from another source. All loan programs of the Farm Service Agency are conducted on a non-discriminatory basis.
Farms, ranches damaged by flood may be eligible for assistance
A flood and excessive rain has caused severe damage in all areas of Daviess County. Farms and ranches suffering severe damage may be eligible for assistance under the Emergency Conservation Program (ECP) administered by the Daviess County Farm Service Agency (FSA) if the damage:
•Will be so costly to rehabilitate that federal assistance is or will be needed to return the land to productive agricultural use;
•Is unusual and is not the type that would recur frequently in the same area
•Affect the productive capacity of the farmland
•Will impair or endanger the land.
A producer qualifying for ECP assistance may receive cost-share levels not to exceed 75% of the eligible cost of restoration measures. No producer is eligible for more than $200,000 cost sharing per natural disaster occurrence. The following types of measures may be eligible:
•Removing debris from farmland
•Grading, shaping, or re-leveling severely damaged farmland
•Restoring permanent fences
•Restoring conservation structures and other similar installations
Producers who have suffered a loss from a natural disaster may contact the local FSA County Office and request assistance from Oct. 14 to Dec. 15.
To be eligible for assistance, practices must not be started until all of the following are met
•An application for cost-share assistance has been filed
•Local FSA County Committee (COC) or its representative has conducted an onsite inspection of the damaged area
•The agency responsible for technical assistance, such as the Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS), has made a needs determination, which may include cubic yard of earthmoving, etc, required for rehabilitation.
Disaster assistance available for small businesses
Small, non-farm businesses in 96 Missouri counties, including Daviess, may now apply for low-interest disaster loans from the U. S. Small Business Administration (SBA). "These loans offset economic losses because of reduced revenues caused by excessive moisture and flooding that began on March 1, 2008,"announced Alfred E. Judd, Director of SBA’s Disaster Field Operations Center-West.
Small businesses and most private, non-profit organizations of any size may qualify for Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDLs) of up to $2 million to help meet financial obligations and operating expenses which could have been met had the disaster not occurred. "Eligibility for these working capital loans is based on the financial impact of the disaster only and not on any actual property damage. These loans have an interest rate of 4%, a maximum term of 30 years, and are restricted to small businesses without the financial ability to offset the adverse impact without hardship," Judd said.
By law, SBA makes EIDLs available when the U. S. Secretary of Agriculture designates an agricultural disaster. Secretary Ed Schafer declared this disaster at the request of Governor Matt Blunt.
Businesses primarily engaged in farming or ranching are not eligible for SBA disaster assistance. Agricultural enterprises should contact the Farm Services Agency (FSA) about the U. S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) assistance made available by the secretary’s declaration.
Information and application forms are available from SBA’s Customer Service Center by calling
(800) 659-2955, emailing [email protected], or visiting SBA’s website at
www.sba.gov/services/disasterassistance. Hearing impaired individuals may call (800) 877-8339.
The deadline to apply for these loans is May 5, 2009.