The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has designated 12 counties in California as primary natural disaster areas due to damages and losses caused by a drought that occurred during the period of Jan. 2, 2015, and continuing. Those counties are:
| Fresno | Madera | Santa Barbara | Trinity |
| Kern | Marin | Santa Clara | Tulare |
| Kings | San Benito | Sonoma | Ventura |
“Our hearts go out to those California 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 California 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 California also qualify for natural disaster assistance because their counties are contiguous. Those counties are:
| Alameda | Merced | San Mateo |
| Humboldt | Mono | Santa Cruz |
| Inyo | Monterey | Shasta |
| Lake | Napa | Siskiyou |
| Los Angeles | San Bernardino | Stanislaus |
| Mariposa | San Francisco | Tehama |
| Mendocino | San Luis Obispo | Tuolumne |
All counties listed above were designated natural disaster areas on Dec. 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.
