USDA Emergency Loan For Farms in NJ

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

DATE: February 19, 2019

Contact: Bob Hornby, Hunterdon County Ag

Development Board Administrator

bhornby@co.hunterdon.nj.us

The Federal Farm Service Agency Determines Hunterdon County Farmers Can

Apply For Disaster Emergency Loan Program

The Hunterdon County Agriculture Development Board (CADB) has announced that the US Department of Agriculture/Farm Service Agency (FSA) has determined that Hunterdon County farmers may be eligible for the FSA’s Emergency Loan Program, because of a federal disaster designation due to excessive heat, rainfall and/or drought conditions during the summer in 2018.

The FSA has provided the following summary:

• Secretarial Disaster Designation #S4455 is due to the combined effects of Excessive Rain, Moisture, and Storm-force Winds from Hurricane Florence impacting New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania.
  • Incident Period of July 20, 2018 to September 27, 2018.
  • 3 Primary Counties in New Jersey: Warren, Sussex and Morris Counties.
  • 5 Contiguous Counties in New Jersey: Hunterdon, Somerset, Union, Essex and Passaic Counties.
  • 2 Adjacent States and 5 Contiguous Counties in the Adjacent States: State of New York – Orange County; State of Pennsylvania – Pike, Monroe, Northampton and Bucks Counties.
  • Application Deadline: close of business October 4, 2019.

• Secretarial Disaster Designation #S4454 is due to Excessive Rain and Moisture impacting New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
  • Incident Period of July 20, 2018 to September 27, 2018.
  • 2 Primary Counties in New Jersey: Hunterdon and Somerset Counties.
  • 5 Contiguous Counties in New Jersey: Warren, Morris, Union, Middlesex and Mercer Counties.
  • 1 Adjacent State and 1 Contiguous County in the Adjacent State: State of Pennsylvania – Bucks County.
  • Application Deadline: close of business October 4, 2019.

Eligible farmers may borrow up to a maximum amount of $500,00.00 to restore or replace essential property, pay all or part of production costs associated with the disaster year, or refinance certain debts incurred due to the disaster.

Farmers who may be interested in applying for an Emergency Loan must own or operate land located in a county designated by the Secretary of Agriculture as a primary disaster area or a contiguous disaster county,

must be an established family farm operator, have sufficient farming experience, and must have suffered a 30 percent loss of production in a single crop/livestock enterprise.

Loans for crop and livestock losses are normally repaid within one to seven years, and depending on the loan purpose, may be authorized for a term of up to 20 years. The current interest rate is 3.750%, and would be fixed for the term of the loan.

For more information about FSA disaster assistance, visit http://disaster.fsa.usda.gov or contact:

Shannon P Barton

Farm Loan Specialist

New Jersey State Office

USDA-Farm Service Agency

Office: (609)438-3138 FAX: (855) 305-6513