The U.S. Department of Agriculture is offering emergency support to farmers and ranchers in 32 disaster-designated counties and in counties that adjoin the disaster area, Wendy Modline, Tyrrell-Dare FSA executive director, announed.

Producers who suffered losses due to excessive flooding and wind caused by Hurricane Florence may be eligible for USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) emergency loans.

Northeastern counties in the primary damaged area are Beaufort, Carteret, Craven, Hyde, Jones, Lenoir, Nash, Onslow, and Pamlico.

Producers in the contiguous counties are also eligible to apply for emergency loans. This group includes Dare, Edgecombe, Halifax, Martin, Pitt, Tyrrell, and Washington.

This designation by Secretary Perdue allows FSA to extend emergency credit to producers recovering from natural disasters. Emergency loans can be used to meet various recovery needs including the replacement of essential items such as equipment or livestock, reorganization of a farming operation or the refinance of certain debts.

The deadline to apply for these emergency loans is July 8, 2019.

FSA will review the loans based on the extent of losses, security available and repayment ability.

The Tyrrell-Dare FSA office is 155 L.A. Keiser Dr., Columbia, and has office hours of 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The telephone number is 252-796-3701 extension 2.