"These

emergency loans will help Georgia farmers who suffered from a damaged

cotton crop and reduced forage for cattle," said Veneman.

Banks, Butts,

Candler, Clayton, Elbert, Emanuel, Fayette, Glascock, Henry, Jackson,

Jefferson, Johnson, Laurens, Madison, Oglethorpe, Tattnall, Taylor, Washington

and Wilkinson counties were named Feb. 7 as primary disaster areas.

Also eligible,

because they are contiguous, are Appling, Baldwin, Barrow, Bleckley, Bulloch,

Burke, Clarke, Coweta, Crawford, DeKalb, Dodge, Evans, Franklin, Fulton,

Greene, Gwinnett, Habersham, Hall, Hancock, Hart, Jasper, Jenkins, Jones,

Lamar, Liberty, Lincoln, Long, Macon, Marion, McDuffie, Monroe, Montgomery,

Newton, Oconee, Peach, Richmond, Rockdale, Schley, Spalding, Stephens,

Talbot, Taliaferro, Toombs, Treutlen, Twiggs, Upson, Warren, Wayne, Wheeler

and Wilkes counties.

This designation

makes all qualified farm operators in primary and contiguous disaster

counties eligible for low-interest EM loans from the Farm Service Agency,

provided eligibility requirements are met.

Farmers in

eligible counties have eight months from the date of this declaration

to apply for the 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 available, in addition to the emergency loan program, to help

eligible farmers recover from adversity. Interested farmers may contact

their local FSA offices for further information on eligibility requirements

and application procedures.

Additional

information is also available online at

www.fsa.usda.gov/pas/disaster/assistance1.htm