TRENTON, NJ – The New Jersey Secretary of Agriculture Douglas H. Fisher announced yesterday that farmers in Cumberland, Gloucester, Salem, Atlantic, Camden and Cape May counties could still apply for disaster assistance.
On May 22, 2014, a storm brought excessive rain, flooding, high winds and hail that damaged crops, according to a press release. The USDA determined that there were sufficient production losses from the storm to warrant a Secretarial natural disaster designation.
This distinction makes farmers in the six counties eligible to be considered for assistance from the USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) as long as eligibility requirements are met.
In order to be designated a primary natural disaster area, a county must have sustained a 30% or greater production loss to a single crop due to the disaster. Farmers in the eligible counties have eight months from the date of a Secretarial disaster declaration to apply for emergency loans, according to a press release. FSA considers each loan application on its own merits.
Farmers are encouraged to contact their local FSA office for details. To find a local office, click here.
