Grassley: USDA Makes Disaster Assistance Available to 22 Counties in Iowa
WASHINGTON—Sen. Chuck Grassley today said that the U.S. Department of Agriculture has designated four Iowa counties as disaster areas following bad weather earlier this year. This designation makes 18 additional counties eligible for assistance as contiguous disaster counties.
Jefferson, Lyon, O'Brien and Taylor counties were given primary disaster designation due to crop losses caused by winter snow load, excessive rainfall, high winds, hail and tornadoes that occurred from February 1, 2004 and continuing. Adams, Buena Vista, Cherokee, Clay, Davis, Dickinson, Henry, Keokuk, Montgomery, Osceola, Page, Plymouth, Ringgold, Sioux, Union, Van Buren, Wapello and Washington counties are eligible for assistance as contiguous disaster counties.
"This is good news for the family farmers in these counties. The bad weather they have received this year has impacted yields and this assistance will help the farmers who have been hurt," Grassley said.
This designation makes farmers in both primary and contiguous counties eligible for low-interest emergency loans from the Farm Service Agency (FSA).
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