The U.S. Department of Agriculture has announced that all three counties in the Raccoon Valley Radio coverage area have been designated as primary natural disaster areas due to damages and losses caused by the late-summer and fall drought.

Farmers in Dallas, Greene and Guthrie Counties, along with farmers in 41 other counties in the state of Iowa, may be eligible to receive low interest emergency loans from the USDA’s Farm Services Agency (FSA) if certain requirements are met.

Any farmers interested in pursuing an emergency loan have the next eight months to apply for loans to help cover part of their actual losses.  FSA will take into account the extent of losses, security available and repayment ability of the farmer when considering applications.

If any local farmers have questions or if you’re interested in applying for a loan, contact your county’s FSA service center. For the Dallas County FSA Office, call 515-993-4205.  For the Greene County FSA Office, call 515-386-3138.  And finally, for the Guthrie County FSA Office, call 641-332-2640.