SC declared Federal Disaster Area

Record rainfall in the Palmetto Sate has caused the entire state to be declared a federal disaster area.  Heavy rains have inundated the state since last spring.  This week, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Thomas Vilsack notified Governor Nikki Haley that her request for a disaster designation had been approved. That means farmers across the state who suffered crop losses because of the heavy rains can qualify for low-interest loans. Vilsack designated 36 counties primary disaster areas and the state’s remaining counties as contiguous disaster areas. Nevertheless, farmers in all counties can apply for USDA Farms Service Agency emergency loans. Farmers have eight months to apply from the date of the Secretarial Disaster Declaration.