Oklahoma: 9 Counties Designated Natural Disaster Areas

USDA has designated nine counties in Oklahoma as primary natural disaster areas due to damages and losses caused by heavy rainfall, flooding, high winds and tornadoes that occurred from May 1, 2015, through June 30, 2015. Those counties are:

Bryan	Le Flore	Marshall
Carter	Love	Muskogee
Choctaw	McCurtain	Sequoyah

“Our hearts go out to those Oklahoma 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 Oklahoma 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 Oklahoma also qualify for natural disaster assistance because their counties are contiguous. Those counties are:

Adair	Haskell	McIntosh	Stephens
Atoka	Jefferson	Murray	Wagoner
Cherokee	Johnston	Okmulgee
Garvin	Latimer	Pushmataha

Farmers and ranchers in the following counties in Arkansas and Texas also qualify for natural disaster assistance because their counties are contiguous. Those counties are:

Arkansas
Crawford, Little River, Polk, Scott, Sebastian and Sevier

Texas
Bowie, Cooke, Fannin, Grayson, Lamar, Montague and Red River

All counties listed above were designated natural disaster areas on Sept. 23, 2015, 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.

Additional programs available to assist farmers and ranchers include the Emergency Conservation Program, The Livestock Forage Disaster Program, the Livestock Indemnity Program, the Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees, and Farm-Raised Fish Program, and the Tree Assistance Program. Interested farmers may contact their local USDA Service Centers for further information on eligibility requirements and application procedures for these and other programs.