Hurricane sally disaster relief florida

Florida Agriculture Commissioner Granted Hurricane Sally Secretarial Disaster Declaration

The U.S. Department of Agriculture granted Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried’s request for a Secretarial disaster declaration for several key counties impacted by Hurricane Sally.

The Secretarial disaster declaration names Calhoun, Gadsden, Holmes, Jackson, and Washington Counties as primary disaster areas related to Hurricane Sally, as well as Bay, Gulf, Leon, Liberty, and Walton as contiguous counties.

This disaster declaration opens access to Farm Service Agency (FSA) disaster loans for agriculture producers in counties where this aid was not previously available from earlier declarations, including Calhoun, Gadsden, Jackson, Gulf, Leon, and Liberty Counties.

Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried
Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried

“This Secretarial disaster declaration is welcome news for our Panhandle farmers who have been long waiting for help following Hurricane Sally,” said Commissioner Fried. “In the immediate days following the storm, we began asking the USDA to issue these declarations, making available much-needed Farm Service Agency assistance for producers, some of whom lost 100 percent of their crops. I thank Secretary Perdue for helping our North Florida producers who have been through so much since 2018 begin to rebuild and replant following this latest natural disaster.”

Farmers in eligible counties will have eight months from the December 22 date of the Secretarial disaster declaration to apply for emergency loans. FSA considers each emergency loan application on its own merits, taking into account the extent of production losses on the farm and the security and repayment ability of the operator. Agriculture producers are encouraged to contact their local FSA office for additional details.

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