Emergency Loans Now Available To Producers In Quarantine Areas
September 27, 2002

Emergency Loans Now Available To Producers In Quarantine Areas USDA announced last Friday that farmers and ranchers in designated quarantine areas will be eligible for low-interest emergency loans.

Emergency loans are traditionally made to producers in declared disaster areas where drought, floods and other natural disasters have had devastating effects. The 2002 Farm Bill allows farmers and ranchers located in declared quarantine areas to also apply for emergency loans. Emergency loans can be used to restore or replace essential property, pay all or part of production costs associated with the disaster year and pay essential family living expenses, among other things. Eligibility provisions will be announced in the future.

Once the Secretary of Agriculture declares an area as quarantined through USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, farmers and ranchers can apply for emergency loans at local Farm Service Agency (FSA) offices. Producers must meet certain requirements to be eligible for emergency loans, such as suffering a physical loss of livestock or livestock products, or at least a 30-percent loss in production. Loan applications must be filed within eight months from the date of a declaration. FSA will consider each loan application on its own merits, taking into account the extent of losses, security available and repayment ability.