MEDIA RELEASE

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has designated Hawaii County and Honolulu County as primary natural disaster areas due to losses caused by an ongoing drought that, for purposes of this disaster designation, began Jan. 1, 2012, and continues.

The designation makes all qualified farm operators on the islands of Hawaii and Oahu eligible for low interest emergency loans (EM) from USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA), provided eligibility requirements are met.

Farmers have until March 12, 2013 to apply for loans to help cover part of their actual losses. Farm Service Agency will consider each loan application on its own merits, taking into account the extent of losses, security available and repayment ability.

The USDA also has other programs avail- able to assist farmers and ranchers, including Federal Crop Insurance and the Noninsured Crop Disaster 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.

— Find out more:
www.fsa.usda.gov/hi
http://disaster.fsa.usda.gov