A USDA disaster declaration has opened the door for farmers in 14 Upstate counties to receive federal funding.
Due to a tornado and excessive rain in July, the USDA has designated Clinton, Franklin, Lewis, and Onondaga Counties as primary natural disaster areas. Cayuga County has been named as one of ten contiguous disaster counties. This means farmers in these 14 counties who were impacted by the severe weather event can be considered for emergency loans from the federal Farm Service Agency.
The other nine impacted counties are Cortland, Essex, Hamilton, Herkimer, Jefferson, Madison, Oneida, Oswego, and St Lawrence.
“As climate change continues to drive more frequent and extreme weather events in our state, New Yorkers faced unprecedented levels of rain in July that flooded our communities and devastated crop land,” Governor Hochul said. “This designation will help ensure New York farmers significantly impacted by this summer’s severe weather have access to the resources they need to help rebuild and recover.”
Farmers have eight months to apply for the emergency loans and can do so at their local FSA office.
