Secretary Thomas J. Vilsack designated 11 Mississippi counties as the primary natural disaster area. Producers in Forrest, Greene, Harrison, Jefferson Davis, Jones, Lamar, Marion, Pearl River, Perry, Walthall, and Wayne counties who suffered losses caused by freeze and frost occurring March 20-21 may be eligible for U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA) emergency loans.

Farmers qualifying for emergency loans may borrow up to 100 percent of their actual production loss or the amount needed to restore their operation to its pre-disaster condition, whichever is less, or refinance certain debts. FSA will review the loans based on the extent of losses, security available and repayment ability.

Producers in the 12 contiguous Mississippi counties of Clarke, Covington, George, Hancock, Jackson, Jasper, Lawrence, Lincoln, Pike, Simpson, Smith, and Stone are also eligible to apply for emergency loans.

The deadline to apply for these emergency loans is April 16, 2024.

FSA has a variety of additional programs to help farmers recover from the impacts of this disaster. FSA programs that do not require a disaster declaration include: Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees and Farm-Raised Fish Program; Emergency Conservation Program; Livestock Forage Disaster Program; Livestock Indemnity Program; Operating and Farm Ownership Loans and the Tree Assistance Program.

Farmers may contact their local USDA service center for further information on eligibility requirements and application procedures for these and other programs. Additional information is also available online at https://www.farmers.gov/recover.