Louisiana Parishes Affected By Severe Weather Receive USDA Disaster Declaration
Governor Jindal Announces Approval of USDA Disaster Declaration for Parishes Following Severe Drought and Excessive Rainfall.
Governor Bobby Jindal announced that U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack has declared 53 parishes as primary natural disaster areas and ten parishes as contiguous disaster areas due to a combination of disasters including a severe drought and excessive rainfall that caused production losses for farmers throughout the state. The disaster declaration makes farm operators eligible for emergency loans and the Supplemental Revenue Assistance Payments Program from the U.S. Farm Service Agency (FSA).
In October, Governor Jindal sent a letter to Secretary Vilsack requesting a disaster declaration for all eligible Louisiana parishes due to a combination of drought and excessive rainfall that impacted the crop yield for many of the state’s farmers.
Governor Jindal said, “This is welcome news for our farmers as they continue to recover from a combination of disasters that resulted in a severe impact on crop production. This disaster declaration will enable farmers around the state to be eligible to receive assistance so they can get back on their feet as quickly as possible and help supply the rest of the world with quality goods.”
Commissioner of Agriculture & Forestry Mike Strain, D.V.M said, “Many of our state farmers, foresters and ranchers have been devastated by natural disasters for a second year in a row and we are grateful for the help from the Governor’s office and the USDA. A concerted national effort is needed to assist our agricultural producers so American farmers may continue to produce and compete in the worldwide market place.”
Secretary Vilsack said according to federal guidelines, 53 parishes were classified as “primary natural disaster areas,” which were determined by the USDA to have “sufficient production losses” and another ten parishes were classified as “contiguous disaster parishes” which is in accordance with the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act. Below is the list of parishes eligible for assistance according to the USDA requirements:
Primary Natural Disaster Areas:
Acadia
Ascension
Avoyelles
Beauregard
Bienville
Bossier
Caddo
Calcasieu
Caldwell
Cameron
Catahoula
Claiborne
Concordia
De Soto
East Baton Rouge
East Carroll
East Feliciana
Evangeline
Franklin
Grant
Iberia
Iberville
Jefferson
Jefferson Davis
La Salle
Lafayette
Livingston
Madison
Morehouse
Natchitoches
Orleans
Ouachita
Plaquemines
Pointe Coupee
Rapides
Red River
Richland
St. Bernard
St. Charles
St. Helena
St. James
St. John the Baptist
St. Landry
St. Martin
St. Tammany
Tangipahoa
Tensas
Vermilion
Vernon
Washington
Webster
West Baton Rouge
West Carroll
Contiguous Disaster Areas:
Allen
Assumption
Jackson
Lafourche
Lincoln
Sabine
St. Mary
Union
West Feliciana
Winn
To view the Governor’s letter to Secretary Vilsack from October, please visit: http://www.gov.state.la.us/index.cfm?md=newsroom&tmp=detail&articleID=1672
Topics: Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act, contiguous disaster parishes, crop yield, Department of Agriculture, disaster declaration, drought, economic recovery, Economy, environment, excessive rainfall, Governance, Louisiana, natural disaster, U.S., United States, USDA, worldwide market place
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