BATON ROUGE, La., (KNOE 8 News) - A number of Northeast Louisiana parishes have been designated natural disaster areas due to the current drought we're experiencing.
Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry Commissioner Mike Strain, D.V.M., says that the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has designated four Louisiana parishes and seven contiguous parishes as natural disaster areas.
Morehouse, Richland, Union and West Carroll parishes are declared primary natural disaster areas. The seven parishes named as contiguous disaster areas are: Caldwell, Claiborne, East Carroll, Franklin, Lincoln, Madison and Ouachita.
The USDA reports 63 percent of the nation's hay acreage and about 73 percent of cattle acreage are in areas experiencing drought. About 87 percent of the U.S. corn and 85 percent of the soybeans are included in the drought areas.
A federal disaster designation makes farm operators in primary and contiguous areas eligible to be considered for certain assistance from the Farm Service Agency (FSA), provided eligibility requirements are met. This assistance includes low interest FSA emergency loans.
Farmers and ranchers can get more information from their local FSA offices.
Friday, May 17 2013 12:09 PM EDT2013-05-17 16:09:18 GMT
FARMERVILLE, La. (KNOE 8 News) - The family of a Farmerville teen who died at football practice last week says it is overwhelmed by the community's gratitude.
FARMERVILLE, La. (KNOE 8 News) - The family of a Farmerville teen who died at football practice last week says it is overwhelmed by the community's gratitude.
