"Several

areas of Georgia experienced severe drought conditions in the past year,"

said Parker. "This assistance will help farmers in those areas recover

from their agricultural losses caused by drought."

The following

counties were named as primary disaster areasas of April 5: Banks, Butts,

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

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

and Wilkinson. Crisp, Houston, Pulaski, Sumter and Wilcox counties also

are eligible because they are contiguous.

This designation

makes all qualified farm operators in primary and contiguous disaster

counties eligible for low-interest EM farm loans from USDA's 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 farm 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 on disaster

assistance from FSA is also available online at https://www.fsa.usda.gov/pas/disaster/assistance1.htm