On Sept. 30, N.C. Agriculture Sec. Tom Vilsack declared a natural disaster in the State of North Carolina based on losses caused by drought that occurred Aug. 4, and continuing. As a result of this natural disaster, three North Carolina counties were declared eligible for federal disaster assistance, including Farm Service Agency (FSA) emergency (EM) loans for eligible family farmers. Those primary disaster counties are:
- McDowell
- Polk
- Union
In addition to those three primary disaster counties, 11 additional North Carolina counties are named as contiguous counties where eligible family farmers may qualify for FSA EM loan assistance, in accordance with Section 321(a) of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act.
Those counties are:
- Anson
- Avery
- Buncombe
- Burke
- Cabarrus
- Henderson
- Mecklenburg
- Mitchell
- Rutherford
- Stanly
- Yancey
Gay H Isaacs, Watauga/Avery FSA County Executive Director said that effective September 30, 2015, farmers in Avery County may apply for EM loans for production losses. May 31, 2016 is the deadline for filing an application. The local office is located at 971 West King Street, Boone NC 28607 and has office hours of 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Isaacs said that any farmer who suffered a production loss should contact the office for additional information at 828 264-3850, ext. 2.