<p style="text-indent:0px; line-height:12px;"><span style="font-weight:bold;">Trenton NJ-</span><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">By ANUK Staff<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">2.18.13</p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><p>United States Secretary of Agriculture Thomas Vilsack has granted a Natural Disaster Designation for 14 New Jersey counties following Hurricane Sandy, a snowstorm, Nor’easter, drought, high winds, hail, extreme heat and rain, and flash flooding between June 28 and November 8, 2012.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">The designation will open up an avenue of relief to hard hit farmers who lost crops and suffered structural damage. The declaration includes Atlantic, Burlington, Camden, Cape May, Cumberland, Gloucester, Mercer, Monmouth, Morris, Ocean, Passaic, Salem, Sussex and Warren Counties.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"> “Superstorm Sandy not only impacted our shoreline, but caused an immense amount of damage for our farmers, who already had suffered losses due to severe weather throughout the season,” said New Jersey Governor Chris Christie. “While federal aid is already being provided through a variety of programs, now farmers will have additional federal agriculture disaster assistance to help them get back on their feet.”<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">To receive the primary natural disaster designation, counties must have sustained a 30 percent or greater loss to a single crop due to a disaster. Nine counties were designated primary areas, while Mercer, Monmouth, Morris, Passaic and Warren counties were included as contiguous counties, still making them eligible to receive help from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA).<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">“We are very thankful to Secretary Vilsack for giving our farmers the opportunity to access the USDA’s disaster relief programs,” said New Jersey Secretary of Agriculture Douglas H. Fisher. “In spite of the many weather-related issues faced by agriculture in 2012, the season was an overall success.”<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">The disaster designation makes farm operators eligible to be considered for assistance from Farm Service Agency, provided eligibility requirements are met. This assistance includes Farm Service Agency emergency loans, according to a statement.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"> “Although 2012 was a challenging year for many growers in a lot of ways, I’m excited we’ll be able to offer this help to recover from their 2012 losses and get them ready for the 2013 season ,” said Paul Hlubik, Executive Director of USDA’s Farm Service Agency in New Jersey. “I’m grateful to Secretary Vilsack and the Christie Administration for their support as we sought this disaster designation. It will not only make farmers eligible for low-interest loans and restructuring, but extend the time for them to apply for assistance.”<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">Farmers in the affected counties have eight months from the date of the disaster declaration to apply for emergency loan assistance, which could cover to 100 percent of the dollar value of the losses. Farmers must have suffered a 30 percent loss in crop production or physical loss to livestock, inventory, or property and meet FSA requirements.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><a class="btn btn-sm btn-primary col-lg-12" style="white-space: normal;" href=" http://www.state.nj.us/agriculture/" target="_new">New Jersey Department of Agriculture</a></p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">
