USDA emergency loans available

Hall County is one of 54 Nebraska counties eligible to apply for U.S. Department of Agriculture low-interest emergency (EM) loans due to physical and production losses caused by severe storms, tornadoes and flooding that occurred beginning May 22 and continuing.

The 54 Nebraska counties that were declared a disaster area became eligible for disaster assistance due to a presidential major disaster declaration signed on June 20.

The primary counties named in the area include Adams, Boone, Sherman, Custer, Hall, Hamilton, Loup, Howard, Merrick and Nance.

In addition, 26 Nebraska counties became eligible for this assistance because they are contiguous to one or more of the primary designated counties.

Area counties included are Valley and Greeley.

Emergency loan applications are available and must be submitted through the local Farm Service Agency county office from any applicant who qualifies for a physical or production loss (at least a 30 percent reduction from normal) in a single enterprise from this disaster in these counties.

To qualify for an EM loan, an applicant must be an established family farm operator; provide evidence of having suffered a qualifying physical or production loss; and be unable to obtain suitable credit from a source other than FSA.

The low-interest loans may cover up to 100 percent of the applicant's actual production or physical losses, to a maximum amount of $500,000. The loan applicants must show ability to repay the loan, and the loan must be adequately secured.

FSA loans for production losses may be used to buy feed, seed, fertilizer or livestock or to refinance certain debts. FSA loans for physical losses may be used to repair or replace the property that was damaged or lost.

The current interest rate for the EM loans is 3.75 percent. The deadline for submitting applications is Feb. 20, 2009.

In addition to the EM loan program, the FSA has other direct and guaranteed farm operating and farm ownership loan programs, which can be considered in assisting farmers to recover from their losses.

Additional information about FSA farm loan programs is available at www.fsa.usda.gov/dafl.