USDA Declares Disaster for 74 Okla. Counties

OKLAHOMA CITYThe U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) issued a Secretarial disaster declaration for 74 of 77 counties in Oklahoma. The declaration was in response to a June 10 request by Gov. Mary Fallin, who asked the USDA to issue a disaster declaration in order to help farmers hit by drought and wildfires.

Secretarial disaster designation makes farmers in designated counties eligible to be considered for federal assistance from the Farm Service Agency (FSA). That assistance includes FSA emergency loans and the Supplemental Revenue Assistance Payments (SURE) Program. Farmers in designated counties have eight months from the date of a Secretarial disaster declaration to apply for emergency loan assistance. Farmers interested in requesting additional information should contact their local FSA office.