Texas Gov. Requests USDA Assistance After Storms

Texas Gov. Rick Perry has requested that the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Farm Service Agency provide disaster relief assistance for Colorado and Wilbarger counties, where farms and ranches experienced damage due to a series of severe storms that swept across Texas in November. Sustained flooding also has contributed to the damage in these counties.

The National Weather Service said November 2004 has gone down in the record books as the rainiest November since 1895.

Initial reports from Colorado County estimate damage to 6,600 acres of soybeans, oats and pecans. Initial reports from Wilbarger County estimate that 16,000 acres of cotton were damaged by the storms.

If the USDA request is approved, qualified farm operators in designated counties will be eligible for low-interest emergency loans from the USDA’s Farm Service Agency. Producers can borrow up to 100 percent of actual production or physical losses, or a maximum of $500,000. The agency offers additional programs, such as technical assistance, to eligible farmers.