WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Agriculture has designated three counties in Kansas and five counties in Colorado as primary natural disaster areas due to losses and damages caused by multiple disasters that occurred during the 2017 crop year.

» Designation Number 1: USDA designated Marshall and Nemaha counties in Kansas as primary natural disaster areas due to losses and damages caused by drought that occurred during May 1, and continues.

Farmers and ranchers in Brown, Jackson, Pottawatomie, Riley and Washington counties in Kansas also qualify for natural disaster assistance because their counties are contiguous.

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Farmers and ranchers in Gage, Pawnee and Richardson counties in Nebraska also qualify for natural disaster assistance because their counties are contiguous.

Designation Number 2: Farmers and ranchers in Trego County in Kansas also qualify for natural disaster assistance because their county is contiguous.

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Farmers and ranchers in Ellis, Gove, Graham, Ness and Rooks counties in Kansas also qualify for natural disaster assistance because their counties are contiguous.

All counties listed above were designated natural disaster areas on Nov. 13, making all qualified farm operators in the designated areas eligible for FSA’s emergency loans, provided eligibility requirements are met.

» Designation Number2: USDA designated Delta County in Colorado as a primary natural disaster area due to losses and damages caused by severe freeze that occurred from April 4-30.

Farmers and ranchers in Gunnison, Mesa and Montrose counties in Colorado also qualify for natural disaster assistance because their counties are contiguous.

» Designation Number 3: USDA designated Otero County in Colorado as a primary natural disaster area due to losses and damages caused by hail storms that occurred from Aug. 5-10.

Farmers and ranchers in Bent, Crowley, Kiowa, Las Animas and Pueblo counties in Colorado also qualify for natural disaster assistance because their counties are contiguous.

» Designation Number 4: USDA designated Dolores, Montezuma and San Miguel as primary natural disaster areas due to losses and damages caused by hail storms and hard rain that occurred on Sept. 14.

Farmers and ranchers in La Plata, Montrose, Ouray and San Juan counties in Colorado also qualify for natural disaster assistance because their counties are contiguous.

Farmers and ranchers in Apache County in Arizona, San Juan County in New Mexico and San Juan County in Utah also qualify for natural disaster assistance because their counties are contiguous.

All counties listed above were designated natural disaster areas on Nov. 6, making all qualified farm operators in the designated areas eligible for FSA’s emergency loans, provided eligibility requirements are met.

Farmers in eligible counties have eight months from the date of the declaration to apply for loans to help cover part of their actual losses. FSA will consider each loan application on its own merits, taking into account the extent of losses, security available and repayment ability. FSA has a variety of programs, in addition to the EM loan program, to help eligible farmers recover from adversity.

Other FSA programs that can provide assistance, but do not require a disaster declaration, include Operating and Farm Ownership Loans; the Emergency Conservation Program; Livestock Forage Disaster Program; Livestock Indemnity Program; Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees and Farm-Raised Fish Program; and the Tree Assistance Program. Interested farmers may contact their local USDA service centers for further information on eligibility requirements and application procedures for these and other programs. Additional information is also available online at http://disaster.fsa.usda.gov. ❖