USDA Designates California Counties as Primary Natural Disaster Areas

On February 4, 2015, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) designated 55 California counties as primary natural disaster areas due to damages and losses caused by recent drought conditions.  All designated counties are eligible to apply for low interest emergency (EM) loans from USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) to help cover part of their actual losses.  FSA will consider each loan application based on several factors, including the extent of losses, and ability to repay the loan.  

Thirty-two of the fifty-five designated counties include RCRC member counties: Alpine, Amador, Butte, Calaveras, Colusa, El Dorado, Glenn, Humboldt, Inyo, Lake, Lassen, Madera, Mariposa, Mendocino, Merced, Modoc, Mono, Napa, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, San Benito, Shasta, Sierra, Siskiyou, Sutter, Tehama, Trinity, Tulare, Tuolumne, Yolo and Yuba.  Del Norte and Imperial counties will also qualify for natural disaster assistance because their counties are contiguous. 

Detailed information on the emergency designation can be accessed here.