{"id":27580,"date":"2015-08-27T08:48:34","date_gmt":"2015-08-27T08:48:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/viconsortium.com\/?p=27580"},"modified":"2015-08-27T15:05:03","modified_gmt":"2015-08-27T15:05:03","slug":"st-croix-declared-drought-disaster-area-by-usda-emergency-loans-now-available","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/wp.viconsortium.com\/?p=27580","title":{"rendered":"St. Croix Declared Drought Disaster Area By USDA, Emergency Loans Now Available"},"content":{"rendered":"

ST. CROIX — The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has designated this island a as “primary natural disaster” area due to damages and losses caused by the drought that began affecting the territory from April 1, 2015, according to a press release<\/a><\/span> the agency issued on Wednesday.\u00a0The designation comes as tropical storm Erika arrives in the territory on Thursday morning.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur hearts go out to farmers and ranchers affected by this recent natural disaster in St. Croix County in the U.S. Virgin Islands,\u201d said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. \u201cPresident Obama and I are committed to ensuring that agriculture remains a bright spot in our nation\u2019s economy by sustaining the successes of America\u2019s farmers, ranchers, and rural communities through these difficult times. We\u2019re also telling producers in St. Croix County that USDA stands with you and your communities when severe weather and natural disasters threaten to disrupt your livelihood.\u201d<\/p>\n

On August 12,\u00a0Carlos Robles, commissioner of the Department of Agriculture met with<\/a><\/span> farmers, business owners and concerned citizens at UVI\u2019s Great to give an update on the drought situation and the government\u2019s progress in convincing the Secretary of Agriculture to declare the island a disaster area.<\/p>\n

According to the release, the island\u00a0was designated a natural disaster area on Aug. 26, 2015, making all qualified farm operators here eligible for low interest emergency (EM) loans from USDA\u2019s Farm Service Agency (FSA), provided eligibility requirements are met. Farmers 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.<\/p>\n

Additional programs available to assist farmers and ranchers include the Emergency Conservation Program, the Livestock Forage Disaster Program, the Livestock Indemnity Program, the Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees, and Farm-Raised Fish Program, and the Tree Assistance Program, the release further stated.<\/p>\n

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 here<\/a><\/span>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

ST. CROIX — The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has designated this island a as “primary natural disaster” area due to damages and losses caused by the drought that began affecting the territory from April 1, 2015, according to a press release the agency issued on Wednesday.\u00a0The designation comes as tropical storm Erika arrives in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":26935,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[228,3,116,11,191,2474,147],"tags":[3056,3057,3059,342,121,3058],"yoast_head":"\nSt. Croix Declared Drought Disaster Area By USDA, Emergency Loans Now Available - V.I. Consortium<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"ST. 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