USDA declares 29 counties Primary Natural Disaster Areas

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COLUMBIA - Gov. Nikki Haley announced Wednesday that federal aid is now available to South Carolina farmers hit by severe flooding earlier this month. U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Thomas J. Vilsack issued a disaster designation for 29 counties in South Carolina that suffered damage and losses due to the heavy rains and flooding from Oct. 2-5, including Clarendon County. Haley requested the disaster designation in a letter written Oct. 19. Haley said Monday during a visit to the Clarendon Community Center that farming in Clarendon County was “devastated.” “Every day I went up in the air to look, and you couldn’t find the farms,” she said. “We found ponds. We found lakes. They were where farms used to be. So, being able to help the farmers is crucial.” She said the secretarial disaster designation makes farm operators in primary counties and those counties contiguous to primary counties eligible to be considered for certain assistance from Farm Service Agency, provided eligibility requirements are met. This assistance includes FSA emergency loans. Farmers in eligible counties, which include both primary and contiguous counties, have eight months from the date of a secretarial disaster declaration to apply for emergency loans. FSA considers each emergency loan application on its own merits, taking into account the extent of production losses on the farm, and the security and repayment ability of the operator. Local FSA offices, administered by the South Carolina State Executive Director of the Farm Service Agency, can provide affected farmers with further information. Joining Clarendon County in the designation were Aiken, Allendale, Bamberg, Barnwell, Berkeley, Calhoun, Chester, Colleton, Darlington, Dillon, Dorchester, Edgefield, Fairfield, Florence, Georgetown, Horry, Kershaw, Lancaster, Laurens, Lee, Lexington, Marion, Newberry, Orangeburg, Richland, Saluda, Sumter and Williamsburg counties.