Iowa State Executive Director for USDA Farm Service Agency, John R Whitaker today (Thursday),  announced that Administrator Bruce Nelson has made physical loss loans available for 21 Counties in Iowa.  Farm operators who have suffered major physical losses caused by hail, excessive rain, high winds, and tornadoes on April 14th, 2012, may be eligible for low-interest emergency loans.  

The Administrator’s Physical Loss Notification has been issued for five counties as the primary damaged area.  Among the primary counties are:  Fremont,  Montgomery, Page, and Union.  Sixteen Iowa counties are contiguous to the designated disaster area, making those producers also potentially eligible for the program based on the designation.  In the KJAN listening area, the contiguous counties include:  Adair, Adams, Cass, Madison, Mills, Pottawattamie, Ringgold and Taylor.  

The Farm Service Agency may make Emergency Loans to eligible family farmers which will enable them to return to their normal operations if they sustained qualifying losses resulting from natural disaster.  Physical loss loans may be made to eligible farmers to enable them to repair or replace damaged or destroyed physical property, including livestock losses, essential to the success of the farming operation.  Examples of property commonly affected include; essential farm buildings, fixtures to real estate, equipment, livestock, perennial crops, fruit and nut bearing trees, and harvested or stored crops.  

The applicant must be unable to obtain credit from other usual sources to qualify for the Farm Service Agency Farm Loan Program assistance.  The interest rate for emergency loans is 3.75%.  Each applicant applying for credit will be given equal consideration without regard to race, creed, color, marital status, or national origin.