WASHINGTON, Sept. 8, 2020 — Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue designated 13 Iowa counties as primary natural disaster areas. Producers in Adair, Audubon, Boone, Calhoun, Carroll, Cass, Crawford, Dallas, Greene, Guthrie, Sac, Shelby and Webster counties who suffered losses due to recent drought may be eligible for U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA) emergency loans.

This natural disaster designation allows FSA to extend much-needed emergency credit to producers recovering from natural disasters. Emergency loans can be used to meet various recovery needs including the replacement of essential items such as equipment or livestock, reorganization of a farming operation or the refinance of certain debts.

Producers in the contiguous Iowa counties of Adams, Buena Vista, Cherokee, Hamilton, Harrison, Humboldt, Ida, Madison, Monona, Montgomery, Pocahontas, Polk, Pottawattamie, Story, Union, Warren, Woodbury and Wright are also eligible to apply for emergency loans.

The deadline to apply for these emergency loans is April 26, 2021. FSA will review the loans based on the extent of losses, security available and repayment ability.