WASHINGTON COUNTY, NEARBY COUNTIES DECLARED PRIMARY NATURAL DISASTER AREAS DUE TO DROUGHT
Washington and surrounding counties are among 150 in the state of Texas that are designated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) as primary natural disaster areas due to drought.
The designation allows the USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) to offer credit to recovering producers through emergency loans. The loans can be used to meet various recovery needs such as the replacement of essential items like equipment or livestock, reorganizing farming operations or refinancing certain debts. The FSA will review the loans based on the extent of losses, security available and repayment ability.
Counties listed in the primary natural disaster designation include Washington, Austin, Colorado and Fayette. Other contiguous counties of Brazos, Burleson, Grimes, Lee and Waller are also eligible for assistance.
According to the USDA, affected counties suffered from a drought intensity value during the growing season of either severe drought for eight or more straight weeks, or extreme or exceptional drought.
The deadline to apply for aid is November 17th. Producers can go to www.farmers.gov to learn about program or loan options available to them or find their nearest USDA Service Center.