The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has designated seven counties in South Carolina as primary natural disaster areas due to damages and losses caused by the recent drought.
The counties are:
| Barnwell | Chesterfield | Kershaw | York |
| Cherokee | Greenville | Spartanburg |
“Our hearts go out to those South Carolina farmers and ranchers affected by recent natural disasters,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. “President Obama and I are committed to ensuring that agriculture remains a bright spot in our nation’s economy by sustaining the successes of America’s farmers, ranchers, and rural communities through these difficult times. We’re also telling South Carolina producers that USDA stands with you and your communities when severe weather and natural disasters threaten to disrupt your livelihood.”
Farmers and ranchers in the following counties in South Carolina also qualify for natural disaster assistance because their counties are contiguous. Those counties are:
| Abbeville | Anderson | Darlington | Laurens |
| Orangeburg | Sumter | Aiken | Bamberg |
| Fairfield | Lee | Pickens | Union |
| Allendale | Chester | Lancaster | Marlboro |
| Richland |
Farmers and ranchers in the following counties in Georgia and North Carolina also qualify for natural disaster assistance because their counties are contiguous. Those counties are:
Georgia
Burke
North Carolina
| Anson | Henderson | Rutherford |
| Cleveland | Mecklenburg | Transylvania |
| Gaston | Polk | Union |
All counties listed above were designated natural disaster areas Jan. 30, 2013, making all qualified farm operators in the designated areas eligible for low interest emergency (EM) loans from USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA), provided eligibility requirements are met. Farmers in eligible counties have eight months from the date of the declaration to apply for loans to help cover part of their actual losses. FSA will consider each loan application on its own merits, taking into account the extent of losses, security available and repayment ability. FSA has a variety of programs, in addition to the EM loan program, to help eligible farmers recover from adversity.
Tags: drought, natural disaster area, south carolina, usda
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