The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Perdue sent a letter to Governor Ducey, dated March 8, 2018, designating 12 Arizona counties as primary natural disaster areas due to a recent drought.
According to the U.S. Drought Monitor (http://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/), these counties suffered from a drought intensity value during the growing season of: 1) D2 Drought-Severe for 8 or more consecutive weeks or 2) D3 Drought-Extreme or D4 Drought-Exceptional.
A Secretarial disaster designation makes farm operators in primary counties (and contiguous counties) eligible for certain assistance under the Farm Service Agency (FSA) (including emergency loans). FARMERS IN ELIGIBLE COUNTIES HAVE 8 MONTHS FROM THE DATE OF A SECRETARIAL DISASTER DECLARATION TO APPLY FOR EMERGENCY LOANS. Any such farmers should contact their local FSA office.
