The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has designated 37 counties in South Carolina as primary natural disaster areas due to damage and losses caused by drought and excessive heat that began April 1, 2011, and continue.

“South Carolina producers can continue to count on USDA to provide emergency assistance during difficult times,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. “America’s farmers and rural communities are vitally important to our nation’s economy, producing the food, feed, fiber and fuel that continue to help us grow and out-compete the rest of the world. President Obama and I are committed to use the resources at our disposal to reduce the impact of this disaster on South Carolina producers and help to get those affected back on their feet.”

The counties are:

Abbeville            Calhoun              Dorchester          Horry                  Marlboro
Aiken                 Charleston          Edgefield           Jasper                 McCormick
Allendale            Chester               Fairfield             Kershaw             Oconee
Anderson           Chesterfield       Florence             Lancaster            Orangeburg
Bamberg             Clarendon          Georgetown       Lee                     Richland
Barnwell             Colleton             Greenwood        Lexington           Sumter
Beaufort             Darlington          Hampton            Marion                Williamsburg
Berkeley             Dillon


Farmers and ranchers in the following counties in South Carolina also qualify for natural disaster assistance because their counties are contiguous:

Greenville           Newberry           Saluda                Union                 York
Laurens              Pickens

Farmers and ranchers in the following counties in Georgia and North Carolina also qualify for natural disaster assistance because their counties are contiguous:

Georgia                                               
Burke                 Effingham          Habersham         Rabun                 Screven           
Chatham             Elbert                 Hart                    Richmond          Stephens          
Columbia            Franklin              Lincoln                                                      
                                                                                                                                                           
North Carolina                                  
Anson              Columbus      Macon                Richmond      Scotland          Union
Brunswick       Jackson          Mecklenburg      Robeson         Transylvania    

All counties listed above were designated natural disaster areas Aug. 16, 2011, making all qualified farm operators in the designated areas eligible for low interest emergency (EM) loans from USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA), provided eligibility requirements are met. Farmers in eligible counties have eight months from the date of the declaration to apply for loans to help cover part of their actual losses. FSA will consider each loan application on its own merits, taking into account the extent of losses, security available and repayment ability. FSA has a variety of programs, in addition to the EM loan program, to help eligible farmers recover from adversity.