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FSA emergency loans available in disaster areas of WI, IA, MN

 

Another financial tool has been made available to farmers impacted by bad weather and flooding, now that President Trump has declared parts of Wisconsin a disaster area.

Farm Service Agency State Director Sandy Chalmers tells Brownfield USDA emergency loans are different from other FSA programs.  “We always have direct and guaranteed loans available to farmers, but this emergency loan is structured a little bit differently.  The current interest rate is 3.75% so that’s a pretty competitive interest rate.”

Chalmers says emergency loans can help the rebuilding process.  “It’s designed to help farmers who have seen at least a 30% loss in crop production, or those who have had some physical losses on their farm like damage to buildings or equipment, livestock losses.”

President Trump declared thirteen Wisconsin counties as primary disaster areas.  Seventeen contiguous counties in Wisconsin, plus four border counties in Iowa and Minnesota are also eligible for disaster help.

Chalmers says several farmers need the program right now.  “We’ve already heard from some farmers, probably a month ago, who were waiting for the disaster declaration because they had already visited their private lenders and haven’t had a lot of success.”

She says details about the emergency loan program and other FSA tools are available at local FSA offices.

Here’s the complete list of counties eligible for USDA emergency loans due to President Trump’s disaster declaration:

Primary counties: Adams, Crawford, Dane, Dodge, Fond Du Lac, Iowa, Juneau, La Crosse, Marquette, Monroe, Richland, Sauk, Vernon in southern and southwest Wisconsin, plus Ashland, Iron, Vilas, Price in northern Wisconsin.

Contiguous counties in Wisconsin: Calumet, Columbia, Grant, Green, Green Lake, Jackson, Jefferson, Lafayette, Portage, Rock, Sheboygan, Trempealeau, Washington, Waukesha, Waushara, Winnebago, Wood.

Contiguous counties in Iowa:  Allamakee, Clayton.

Contiguous counties in Minnesota: Houston, Winona.

Listen to Brownfield’s interview with Sandy Chalmers here: