Kentucky.gov

Governor Steve Beshear's Communications Office
USDA Grants Secretarial Disaster Designation to 86 Kentucky Counties

FRANKFORT, Ky. – Gov. Steve Beshear today announced that U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has granted his request for disaster assistance to Kentucky farm families in 86 counties, due to severe storms and flooding that occurred in early May.

“We are pleased that Sec. Vilsack has issued this disaster designation for Kentucky’s farm families,” said Gov. Beshear. “The severe storms and flooding impacted all facets of Kentucky’s agricultural industry and assistance from the USDA will help offset resulting income losses.”

After review of Loss Assessment Reports and other information submitted by Kentucky’s Farm Service Agency Executive Director John McCauley, the USDA determined that there were sufficient production losses to warrant a Secretarial natural disaster designation in 38 counties.  Primary counties included in this disaster designation are as follows:

Also as a result of this designation, 48 contiguous counties are eligible for assistance.  Those counties are as follows:

A Secretarial disaster designation provides farm families, meeting eligibility requirements, in both primary and contiguous counties the opportunity to be considered for disaster assistance from FSA, including emergency loans and Supplemental Revenue Assistance Payments (SURE) Program.  Farmers in eligible counties have until March 1, 2011 to apply for emergency loan assistance.  SURE Program applications for 2010 crop losses will be accepted in 2011 when the 2010 farm revenue data becomes available.

Information about USDA Disaster Assistance Programs and the Secretarial disaster designation process are available at www.fsa.usda.gov by clicking on the Disaster Assistance Program link in the left-hand column.

Local FSA offices can provide affected farmers with further information.  To locate the office that services your county, visit http://offices.sc.egov.usda.gov/locator/app?state=ky&agency=fsa.

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